Bittersweet Dreams
by Takeda Lee
Summary: [FFO part 1] The line between Fantasy and Nightmare is sometimes blurred, but in this world it no longer exists. A Fallen Angel, a cursed Demon, a vengful Mage and a Slytherin girl, are the pillars holding up the last hope for a failing world.
1. Prologue

Okay, first of all, the Disclaimer. I do not own a few things within this story. Things that belong to other people, being J.K Rowling, Warner Bros. Square-Enix and others, belong to them and not me. Now, I do own many characters and Ideas in here. All things not mine but not belonging to the huge conglomerates mentioned will be made note of at the time of their use

**FFOmega  
**Part I: Bitter-Sweet Dreams

Prologue

It was very odd actually.

He had been sitting on the floor for hours and hours…just staring forward.

Yes. Very, very odd.

There were no other words to describe it.

His eyes shut, his legs crossed, his arms draped over his knees in a serene, very personalized version of modern meditation form.

But that was him. Personalizing everything to his own means.

Well, that was him recently.

It never used to be that way. It used to be that he tried to follow the rules. If it took him not following them for something to work out, so be it, but otherwise, he did his best to be completely…normal was his word for it.

Normal…is that really possible for anyone, nonetheless him?

But it soon came to his realization, that such would never happen. And as the new year had begun, he had changed. And he had returned…different. His need for normalcy was gone.

And everything he had done to try to be like everyone else was replaced with changes. Personalization.

And it was actually funny, but this one fact…it changed everything. It changed who he was. It changed how he did things.

Which may have explained why there was a hollow, emptied-out broken stick laying on the ground, collecting dust.

And why, even with his eyes now closed and his body rested completely, there was a feeling in the air of him being completely aware of everything around him.

No, not aware,

In Control. Complete Control.

And this was the fact, the one reason. The one sad fact of why everyone was afraid of him.

Everyone feared his very existence. Everyone feared his very allowance to live.

Hilarious really. Like an old quote I once heard. "Simple things make it so that, the heroes we build up one day, we trod into the dirt the next."

And the simple things have made it so that, despite all beliefs, the one sitting on the bed went from hero of the world to public enemy number one.

And judging by the smirk on his face when he found this out, he wouldn't have had it any other way.

And slowly his eyes cracked open.

And steadily an energy flowed from his body through the room like rushing water. An energy so powerful that it seemed to replace the air in the room. And an energy that was having a very startling effect on the one it was flowing from.

He was _glowing_

Glowing brightly. Illuminated with such light that, even upon shutting one's eyes, it was still blinding. And suddenly it shot straight up. Flying from his body straight through the ceiling and out of the tower. Up into the dusk sky, a straight beam. A beacon.

_**The Call**_

And as the light died down, his body fell back to rest…his eyes shut and his breathing slowed to barely anything at all.

And all over the world, warriors looked up to the sky, feeling the call. Feeling the drawing in their souls. And drawing up their weapons, warriors of different creeds and cultures, different disciplines and training styles all began out.

The World needed saviors, and they were answering the call.

Heroes, Villains, Thieves and Law abiders alike all heading out. All looking to do something with their abilities.

And yet, even as people prepared for whatever may be ahead of them, the one that was to lead them…the one that had called them all,

Was asleep, lost in his own thoughts.

Remembering a time where nothing was like it was.

A time when measures such as The Call weren't needed.

A time when Voldemort wasn't quickly becoming a threat to the entire world. A Threat so big, even he couldn't handle it.

Yes, not for the first time, good ol' Tommy Riddle was actually making the life of a certain Harry Potter much more difficult than it should have ever gotten.


	2. Chapter 1

**FFOmega  
**Part I: Bitter-Sweet Dreams

Chapter 1

* * *

Several Months Before…

* * *

Footsteps

They had become his alarm clock all too quickly.

Well, in all actuality, the mammoth being they belonged to made it so that they were less foot_steps_ and more reminiscent of a stampede of elephants running above him.

"_Damn you_ Dudley. Your fat ass needs some kind of counseling or something. No, forget counseling, you need weight management. No, not even that. More a gastric bypass and emergency liposuction." Harry muttered to himself as he sat up, wiping the plaster off of his exposed upper body.

It was damn hilarious to him how something that big had this immense need to get even bigger. And how he was willing to actually _run_ to get more food…Harry laughed every time he thought of his humongously rotund cousin.

But as he rose, or attempted to rise from the makeshift bed he lay in, he bumped his head on the overhanging board. It was a sad fact to think that the Order's warning had done little but put the Dursleys on constant watch of the raven-haired boy. Meaning, a constant home within the all too small cupboard under the stairs. And this was literally driving Harry insane. He wanted out. Immediately. And today was the planned day for that.

In his last letter to the order, he was able to sneak a note on the bottom of the page that told them on their return letter to send him a portkey. A portkey just to the outside of the door of the cupboard. He made it sound like he just wanted to be able to get somewhere fast and get back.

It had come with the letter that night, and had given instructions on the word to speak to activate the small game piece, a green house-shaped plastic piece, which Harry was sure he had seen somewhere before.

And as he clutched it in his hands and muttered the odd series of words, "_As the Darkness falls…_" something very weird happened.

With the feeling of a pull in his navel, there was a feeling of another pull, in a different direction, much more powerful, and the world spun out of existence.

And as he peeked open his eyes as everything settled down from its rapid rotation, he realized two things.

One, it was truly a blessing that he had fallen asleep the night before with his glasses firmly attached to his face. And Two, wherever he was,

It sure wasn't the outside of the cupboard

That fact was made clear by the half-dozen or so black cloaked figures in masks surrounding him, peering down.

"Oh shit…"

* * *

Harry was lifted off of the ground and carried in some direction. He was able to make out the smoke from a fire rising above the trees that were surrounding his current location, and he would know those masks from anywhere.

So he knew one thing clearly,

Wherever he was, was a place he didn't need to be. And a place he had a good chance of not coming back from.

But Harry thought about it. He had made it that far…he refused to die like he was. Groggy, sleep in his eyes, clad in only pajama pants, and completely defenseless.

So with that thought in his mind, refusing to die without putting up some fight, Harry kicked and screamed, flailing until he was dropped. He had an idea and began his best impersonation of a seizing person, shaking and freaking out and the Death Eaters stood there, in confusion. Finally he laid there, allowing his body to rest and play possum, as he waited for the Death Eaters to make some move.

They stood there watching him and finally one of the Death Eaters leaned down to check on him. And with the glimpse of pale, silvery-blonde hair peaking out from the hood, Harry acted.

He reached up and grabbed the wand that said Death Eater had been holding, cracking the man he figured was Lucius Malfoy over the head with it, splintering it, the core, which was apparently liquid, began to leak out, its silvery color reflecting in the light,

Jumping up, Harry started to run, not in any particular direction, but away from the people around him.

Spells launched after him, but the trees made good cover, and Harry was running for all he had. The cuts forming on the bottoms of his feet were not an obstacle as he kept forcing himself on, the wand still in his hand as he refused to drop it in fear that it might be repairable.

But as he ran, he missed something. With his tightening grip on the shattered wood, cuts were being forced into his hand, and the silvery liquid was leaking in as his blood began to leak out.

But even had he noticed this, he wouldn't have even been able to conceive the effects that that fact would have on him.

Seriously, who thinks to use Unicorn's blood as a wand core? Really?

* * *

His feet carried him faster and faster, the trees blurring around him as he moved more quickly than even he himself knew.

But this was brought to a screeching halt as a solid force hit the middle of his back, and he was launched off of his feet, through the air and slammed into a tree by the utter force of the power.

And as he sank to the ground, he was aware of only one thing. The Pain. The familiar pain that could only come from one thing,

_Cruciatus_

And he laid there, blood seeping from his temple and his hand, his back arched off of the ground, the splinters of the wand he held actually piercing through certain places in his hand as he clenched his fists through the pain.

A Pain that seemed to not be easing any time soon.

And even as everything fell apart around him through the pain, he saw something through his lopsided glasses, the frame on the right side broken when he hit the tree.

There was a form over him, looking down in a complete look of awkwardness. He stood out clearly in Harry's mind.

How often did you see someone clad in completely black, from shoes to shirt to pants, everything, with the most pure white hair? And even more odd than the mid-back length, sheet white hair, where his eyes.

Pure black. No whites, and no color of any kind. They were deep endless pools of black. Darker than even the forest or his clothing. Darker than any night could be. Any thing should be.

And the man bent down and pulled Harry up, forcing him to stand. He lifted the smaller boy's hair near his temple, checking the cut briefly. It was impossible to tell exactly where he was looking, having no clear pupil at all, but Harry could make out the look on his face. He did not look very happy.

Turning, he surveyed the area it seemed, and his eyes narrowed as the sound of footfall and the flashes of spells. He propped Harry up against the tree he had hit, and then set down the backpack Harry just realized he was carrying.

Turning towards the Death Eaters, who were just breaking out of the trees, he began to move.

One of the Death Eaters had ignited their wand in a Lumos spell, which allowed Harry to see what would transpire in only a few second.

With his white hair trailing him almost like a cape, Black Eyes as Harry thought of him, rushed the 5 or so Death Eaters. He jumped and laid a strong jump-kick on the lead Death Eater. And what Harry saw made him wish he knew a bit more about physics.

Because what he saw _shouldn't _have been_ possible_.

The kick actually sent the large man back and through a tree or two. While still in the air from the kick, Black Eyes spun and laid a spin-kick to the side of another Death Eater's head, spinning the cloaked form off of his feet.

Finally landing on the ground, Black Eyes spun and did a leg-sweep on the one holding the lit wand, and as the wand fell, Harry got a weird effect. As the wand fell, the Death Eater fell parallel to it. And suddenly he saw a flash of white hair and Black Eyes was up again, landing a crushing punch into the falling Death Eater's stomach, speeding up his fall so that the wand hit the ground after him.

And when it did, Harry saw the man's face, the mask falling just above his head. There laid someone Harry had seen many a times. There laid Severus Snape, blood leaking from his mouth and nose, and his eyes closed. The wand showed faint breathing, but not a lot.

Harry was watching this, and therefore missed the dispatching of the other Death Eaters. But what he did see was the clear power that his would-be savior held, and should the man feel the need to rid himself of Harry, he easily could.

And this literally scared the hell out of Harry.

And he contemplated what to do. He could try and run, but the pain was still gripping him in the after-current of the curse, and it was beginning to get much colder. And he was sure that running would do no good, he had seen how quickly the one he called Black Eyes could move.

Suddenly there was the sound of footfall again, and the figure before Harry was looking around some more, his white hair getting in his face every so often. But he smiled as he finally looked back to Harry, ruffled his hair a bit and then turned and lifted his backpack.

As Harry saw this, he turned as he heard a group of people break through the trees behind him. And as he looked, he was able to make out the reflective, bald head of Kingsley Shacklebot, the frighteningly electric pink shade of Nymphadora Tonks' hair, and the incredibly unique silhouette of "Mad Eye" Moody.

And as Harry realized the Order was there, he glanced around, looking for Black Eyes, but saw no sight of him.

And slowly consciousness left Harry and he slumped down, finally free of the burden for the time, lost in the world of the unconscious.

"Oh Harry…what have you gotten yourself into?" Tonks muttered as her eyes brimmed with tears as she looked at him, and then leaned down, pulling him up to a standing position with Shacklebot's help, and then releasing him into the larger man's hands as the tall bald man leaned down and scooped Harry up in his arms.

* * *

Harry awoke in a familiar place. The Hospital Wing. And term hadn't even started yet.

"Some record you got here Potter." He muttered to himself before trying to push himself up to a sitting position.

Key word: trying.

The second his weight was put on his right arm, his vision went black. There was actually so much pain ripping through his body that everything went numb. All sense died, and his mind went completely blank.

And the world…it was disappearing. Slowly spinning out of existence, as if a huge drain was opened and everything was being sucked into it.

And finally, all that was left in his dark little makeshift world…was Harry.

And it was very awkward, Very odd indeed as, he was completely conscious. Completely aware and awake, and completely alone.

And then he heard it. In truth, a soft sound, with the absence of all other outside noise, they were all the clarity and volume of gunshots.

Click. Clack. Click. Clack.

Footsteps.

Harry whirled around in the world of darkness around him, and saw nothing. It was all black. Very little even told him he was moving outside of the sensation of actual physical pain as he moved. He couldn't even see what he was seated on, he was just seated.

And as he looked behind him, he realized the sound was more centralized in front of him. And as he thought about this, they stopped.

Turning around, he looked forward to see a ghostly form. Impossible to see exactly who or what it was, but in truth it appeared to be a Dementor. Only, the opposite. Ghostly white, near transparent, and seemingly floating above the ground. Which didn't explain the footsteps.

And as the figure stopped before Harry, an arm stretched from the long white cloak and pulled the hood off its head.

And a face oddly too familiar but completely foreign came into view. She stood there, a knowing smile on her face.

"Yes, I do get that all the time young Potter. All the time. But you see, that is not without reason, nor without a time and a place. And this is neither the time, nor the place. For you see, time is not something that either of us have an abundance of.

"You see, what has occurred in the last few hours has set into play an event, or more, a series of events that could, undeniably knock the very world into such a spin that all things known will become unknown in a matter of seconds. All things done undone to the point that, that which was previously finished will become bothersome loose ends to all still alive, and even a few dead. Skeletons locked away in closets will break out, new life and new resolve to become known.

"And all this, oddly, set into play due to a simple little substance called Unicorn's Blood."

Harry eyed her warily as she spoke. He had heard some damning predictions, actually they were a regular occurrence in his daily life. However, it was not the words she spoke to him that made him eye her. It was the conviction behind them. It was not a Trelawney prediction, where there was a level of need, an underlying need to prove herself that made certain things flow from her mouth.

What the woman before him spoke…it was from true belief. From true knowledge. From a genuine need, no, a genuine care. But for what, was what Harry was trying to figure out.

"I know you have a lot of questions, and they will all be answered, I assure you. But for now, I will tell you this, and you must try and comprehend as much as possible. And the parts you don't get will come to you as time passes.

"You see, there is a great legend surrounding Unicorn's Blood. A great story concerning what it is used for and what it does. In truth, Unicorn's Blood is much like a beefed up version of muggle stimulants. Like an amphetamine. But you see, the results are very odd indeed. Its like a quick-aging drug. It can keep you alive for a given time, strengthening one's body to survive a usually fatal ailment at the cost of aging their bodies unnaturally to the point that their lives can end more than 50 years prematurely.

"However, in magical people, there is an added effect. You see, because the body's energy is made to rise due to ingesting of the blood, all abilities increase exponentially as well. In simplest terms, this basically means that all abilities skyrocket, even higher than physically possible normally. Meaning…"

She left this open, as if waiting for Harry to answer her. He ran it through his mind, and then spoke in an unsure, questioning tone, his answer. "Magical ability increases?"

She smiled and nodded, and then continued. "Magical abilities skyrocket as well. So much in fact that, should a squib ingest the Blood, it would be fully possible for them to cast several Avada Kedavra curses with relative ease.

"Now, why might this be an odd fact for you?"

Harry sat there, looking completely confused. He wondered first about the talk of the Unicorn's Blood, and why, in fact, it did have anything to do with him. She seemed to catch this and smiled, nodding.

"Do you know what was in the Malfoy's wand that you broke?" Harry shook his head. But as he did, a realization hit him as he realized the reason for the Unicorn's Blood talk. "Yes…By Jove I think he's got it!" She said, a smile on her face.

"Now the key here, is making this fact clear to you, even as some of the things you will learn will make you question everyone around you."

Not even waiting for Harry's affirmation in his willingness to hear the things she intended to say, she began. "You see, many things were set into place, long before your birth. All things centering around you. However, this had a lot to do with you parents. Not how many times they denied or fought Voldemort, no, this was more around _who_ your parents were. You see, it was determined that, with the level of abilities, active and dormant that your parents had, no matter what combination of their genes you got, you would have a lot of fairly odd, rare and powerful abilities. Your father coming from a line of Aurors and Unspeakables, thereby a natural ability to defend oneself magically was truly in you blood.

"Now your mother… she was a special case. It has yet to be made a known fact to the wizarding public, due mainly to scared old-timers, but, the combination of "wizarding" and "muggle" blood create a level of magical power higher than either side alone. Because of this, your magical level would be higher than it normally should have been, making it so that, at the time of your birth, your projected magical ability would match that of Albus Dumbledore's by the time you reached the age of about 45.

"However, the events of that night in October actually did something very odd. Many dormant abilities you had were awoken thanks to Riddle and his pitiful attempt at murder. And more than just awakening abilities, as you know, you two were connected. However, his magic needed somewhere to go, as magic is energy, and that can not be destroyed. So thus…It went into you. As did abilities he had, such as parseltongue.

"Now this is a lot of lecturing, but here is the real meat of the story. Since Voldemort's road to returning, people around you began to feel the need to sever any possible connections between you and Riddle. In ways that, should you have known about them, you would have certainly objected to. Even reaching lengths as far as putting up mental barriers in your mind, blocking abilities and powers under the guise of Occulmency training."

She ignored Harry's shocked face, and continued. "However, with the increase in magical abilities, the barriers have crumbled, and the extra magic has flooded to these abilities, awakening them with the new magic you now have, almost powering them, like electricity to previously unpowered appliances to put it metaphorically."

Harry sat there, staring at her. "And the point of you telling me all of this is?" He asked, staring at her as if she was stupid. She had lectured him on the finer details of his life, and told him information he didn't know. But he didn't see why this mattered, and how it was effecting the world. "What does this have to do with saving the world?"

"You can not save the world until you save yourself. And you can not save yourself until you know yourself. I am here to ensure that you make it as far as possible on your own before The Call must be made. I am here to make sure you can understand everything that is about to happen."

"And what, might I ask, is going to happen."

"One of two tings, my dear boy. Either you will save the world using this new power that this mishap has awakened in you, you will stop Riddle…" and she was silent for a moment.

"Or…"

"Or, or, sadly, my dear sweet Harry, the world will end."

"And how do you know this?" Harry observed her. "And why do you care?"

"I care, my sweet child, because I have a good record. A long standing track record of being right. Actually, I have been so right in my predictions that it has come to be that, all I say is considered fact. Period. And I do not want something this serious to be my first slip up, at the worst possible time."

"So this is all about some record you want to keep? I mean, why the hell should I care if you are right or wrong? I don't even know who you are."

"Me. I have many names. Many, many names. Every culture gives a name to me. but you, my dear boy, may know me by one of my oldest names.

_Fate_."

* * *

"Fate." Harry stated, completely lost.

"Yes, Fate. But I have come upon a name from another culture that I like much more that that crude word western civilization has given me. You, my good boy, can call me Karma."

"And I'd like it if you called me Harry, not some stupid 'my dear boy' or something. You aren't my mother."

"You are right there, de…Harry. However, I feel the need to show a great deal of love towards you. I must say, I have been somewhat of a…bitch to you so far, wouldn't you say?"

Harry sat there, staring at her. He was…lost. Completely swimming in information, confusion and a mix of lack of understanding and complete enlightenment. She seemed to see this and smiled.

"Here, let me make this completely simple for you. From here on, life will be a lot different for you. As time passes, your magical development is going to be sped up fast. Super fast. So fast that, everything you learn in school will grow obsolete for you within about a few weeks of you learning it, so you are going to have to learn to update it for your own means. As this happens, you are going to have a lot on you. You will have to basically live in the school library. Learn all you can from everyone you can, learn everything at the school and become as powerful as possible on your own. And when there is nothing else for you there, then it will be the time for The Call.

"The Call, I will explain to you as the time draws closer. A simple state of meditation can put us in contact, but as you learn this, it will be strictly through your dreams or your unconscious states.

"But once The Call is put out, then you will have a short while before the ones that shall be, what I call your 'Guardians' will arrive. They will teach you the true power you hold, and help you get to Riddle. From there, the fate of the world rests with you. Your power…it is all inside of you. This is a lot to put on you, I know. But…I wouldn't place it anywhere else."

And she turned to him and smiled a beautiful smile before coming toward him and lightly caressing his cheek with her hand in a loving way before smoothing his hair behind his ear quickly and smiling again, this time a sort of borderline pitying but hopeful one, and then kissing him on the forehead, whispering a barely audible "I'm Sorry. I am so so Sorry" and then turning, pulling the hood up over her head again and walking away, fading into the darkness.

And then it hit. The world slammed into him, almost as if he was running with the world, pulled ahead of it, and was standing there when it caught up. Everything screeched back into existence, and as he opened his eyes, not even knowing when his position had changed from attempting to sit up to sitting up, his back against the headboard of the bed, with his arms to his sides.

And as he looked around, there was Professor Dumbledore directly at the foot of the bed, talking to Snape, who didn't look any better for ware. The man was shockingly pale from the neck down, even more so than on his face, as his shirt was missing, with gauzes wrapped around his ribs and he was favoring his right leg a great deal. He looked very pale, as people do when they have lost a lot of blood, and he did not look very pleased with something.

"It wasn't supposed to go that way. We didn't know who the hell he was, but he was fast. Demonically fast. He was, like, a man possessed. And I really don't get it. He came out of nowhere, and he protected Potter like a mother bear protects its cubs. And he physically assaulted us all. Beat the bloody hell out of us actually. And his legs…He kicked Goyle once and knocked him through 2 trees. Albus, through!

"And I am damned sure he was hit with at least 3 Cruciatus curses, aimed toward Potter, and he still fought like he was some kind of Hell-Spawn. Whoever he was sir, I was damned sure that it would be a very smart idea to track him down and approach him for the Order. He could be the militant front man of the group, the person that actually gets something done. You know I may have hated him with every fiber of my being, Black got things done with the group. We need someone like that!"

Dumbledore was nodding, regarding Severus with a complete look of…nothing. There wasn't any particular expression on the old man's usually expressive and cheerful face.

Harry saw this before adjusting himself just so. Just enough to purposefully draw attention to himself. Both men turned and looked at him. He looked at them as well, and then cocked his head to the side at the sight of Snape and smirked. But he put his snide remark on the backburner before looking to his Headmaster.

"So, should I take recent events as a description that things with Voldemort have not particularly improved since the end of the term?"

Dumbledore looked at him with a completely new expression in his eyes. It was not comedic recognition or even a twinkle. It was a look of confusion. A look of lack of understanding.

"Mr. Potter…you seem to be in good spirits after an ordeal such as this. I feel we have much to discuss."

"Sir, with all due respect, I do not. I feel that it would be a nice idea for me to be released and returned to Number 4. That is, of course, after a visit to the library. With your permission Sir, I would like to check out several books for some Summer studying, seeing as we have no summer assignments, and there seems to be great and trying times ahead of us all, especially me."

Dumbledore stood there, as did Snape. The older man nodded and Harry nodded back, standing up and walking from the Hospital wing, his bare feet making little pattering sounds on the linoleum floor as he left.

Dumbledore and Snape turned to each other, in complete shock and/or confusion. "Severus, is it just me, or does it seem that, within a matter of days, Mr. Potter has matured by several decades?"

"I do believe that that is a truthful observation, Sir."

"I fear what we have done Severus. I fear that this mere boy has been so forced to become a man, that he himself may have forgotten the ability to be young. I fear that we have relieved him of his innocence before he even knew he possessed it."

"But as they say Albus, Innocence is the most dangerous thing ever conceived."

"Yes Severus, it may be, or may have been. But a child stripped of their innocence is like unleashing a spiteful demon on a room full of people with a loaded pistol in hand."

* * *


	3. Chapter 2

**FFOmega**

Part I: Bitter-Sweet Dreams

Chapter 2

Time was passing about as quickly as the grass was growing on the lawn in the front yard of Number 4 for Harry Potter. He was sure of it, because he was sure the grass had grown since he had last blinked just seconds before.

But then again, that could have just been him overanalyzing things. That had become a habit for him all too quickly. Yes, very quickly. Within a week of returning back from the Hospital Wing that day, anyone watching him could have attested to the fact that Harry was a completely different person. But then again, there was no one watching him in truth. Well, there hadn't been.

That was before he decided that outside was a better place to read than inside a dark stuffy closet with minimal lighting.

And that was before he happened to decide that maybe, just maybe, it might be a good idea to sit on the grass instead of on the porch in front of the door so Dudley could continuously open and close and open and close the door just to torment Harry as he read.

And that was before he knew that the Dursleys had their sprinklers timed for about 6 am, meaning that, even by 9:30, the grass was still fairly damp. Thus, he needed something to lay on. And Petunia would be damned if her sheets were used to be laid on on the grass, even the dingy, sadly old and used ones on the half-ass bed under the cupboard Harry was subjected to make due with. So, off came the shirt.

Harry was sure that he wasn't much to look at, he was a pale, all too thin boy laying on the grass reading. But as he realized something, the only boys around their age in the near vicinity were the guys in Dudley's crew, and they were all either 50+ pounds over weight, looked as if they were recently caught in and trampled in a rhinoceros stampede, or both. And Dudley seemed to see this, and opened his big mouth, mentioning "St. Brutus'".

And it all backfired. Badly. Thus returned the age old question: _Why do good girls like bad guys_?

So every so often Harry would catch the realization that the same two or three girls would walk by number 4 and 5 minutes later, walk by again. Harry, at one point, watched them for a few moments, and noticed their little act of doing laps around Privet Drive, walking by Number 4 much more slowly than any other house.

Shaking his head, he wondered about the other sex. He couldn't figure out some of the things they did, but he shrugged and went back to reading.

Something Harry learned quickly was, laying out in the sun not moving, even in the typical, or more, stereotypical overcast skies of England, one still tans. And he realized this one day as he decided to read while lying on his back, as he lifted one of the lighter books above his head to block the sun. He later saw the darker color of his skin, only slight, but there. And, not wanting to appear uneven, he kept mental track of the time and turned the other direction. If he had to tan, which wasn't a bad thing as far as he saw, he might as well tan correctly. No reason to be tanned on the front and pale as a ghost on the back, or vise versa.

This being the case, there were the days that he, in fact, wasn't reading light books but still had to lay on his back to balance things out. And so, thus began change two in Harry. After that one week, he was able to see a bit of muscle forming already. He could understand why, seeing as several of the books he was toting weighed more than 30 pounds, and he was kinda shocked. He never realized the effects the want to learn could have on him physically. He wondered if perhaps this was the true reason Hermione loved it so much. And he was sure if Ron knew of this fact, he would be the first one in the library each day.

He smiled at the thought of his two friends, and wondered if they had heard anything of what had happened to him in the space of the first few days of summer vacation.

But as that week ended, he realized that, if they truly had the intention of contacting him on his well-being after his little…episode, they would have done so already. Either that, or it wasn't made public knowledge. And Harry had a great hope that it wasn't, as, should it have been that they knew and didn't care.

"But would I care is the question…should they not?" Harry muttered to himself as he laid on his back, setting the book down to look up into the oddly cloud-less sky.

"You know, talking to yourself could become a very bad habit to have."

Harry looked up, having to sit up with his arms behind him to hold him up as he looked to where the voice came from. There was a girl walking up the walkway toward the door. She had on a pair of shorts and a tank top with some flip flops and a head band set to the middle of her head, holding her hair back. She was looking at Harry from the second step on the porch, seeming to have stopped in her walk toward the front door, something Harry was horrified he didn't notice. He was supposed to be watching for potential threats, and here he couldn't even notice a girl around his age waking in flip flops along the cobblestone walkway.

She was smiling at him and he managed a half smile. "Well, it's not a problem until yourself starts talking back." He quipped back, smirking as he remembered a quote from one of the books he had been reading, which, for some reason, likened muggle philosophy to the magical theory and even a bit of divination.

"Touché" she smirked and then stepped from the porch and walked toward him, gingerly crossing the grass, as her feet tried without luck to not get wet. Finally she just gave up on her tip-toeing across the grass to simply walking. When she made it over to him, she smiled and stuck her hand out. "Name's Kelly. I live down the street, and I am just going around to advertise the car wash we are going to have later today and for the next few weeks to raise money for…" She leaned down slightly and said in a softer tone, "Well, I won't lie to you. Really it's just to get money, period. But adults will contribute more if they think it's for something other than just to line our pockets." She smiled at him again, this one much more sly. "Don't tell anyone, ok." and she gave him a wink. He nodded once.

"My name is Harry." He said upon observing her look of waiting for something. She nodded and with another shake of their oddly still joined hands she let his go and started toward the house.

As she was on her way, she turned and said slightly over her shoulder, "You should come out. Just follow the signs all over." and then she was at the door, a soft rapping sound all Harry could hear of her presence anymore.

5 minutes later she was out of the door, hitting a light jog to get away from the house as Dudley's large, pink, fat face called to her from the house for her to come back and describing in detail, **explicit detail**, **_too much detail_**, all the fun they could have were she to return. Harry saw the sickened look on the girl's face and made out the slightly greenish tint to her face from even half a block away.

And he turned back, flipping through his book, trying to remember what he had been reading about and where he had been in said book. But as he was flipping through, a section caught his eye. It was a section on magical theory and how, with the proper amount of mental and magical awareness and ability, one's view of the world could be altered to visually recognize the status of other people around. This included their current physical health level, as well as the amount of magic they held within them and the ranking level they were in terms of using it and such. It was basically a mental way or organization.

It was speculated that this was used and developed in the mind of ancient Mage-Riders, or ancient magic-using knights, as a way or organizing their enemies so they could see who was most powerful and who should be dealt with first as the biggest threat.

Also hinted at in that section, was an ability that was unlocked deep in each person's mind. An ability that was built up to more and more over time, as certain circumstances were met, until it was let free and directed toward someone or a group of someones. The most recognizable, and actual only known exhibition of said technique was during the Grindlewald War, when one "A. Dumbledore" released a shot of magical energy that actually enveloped all of the battlefield and was the actual noted cause of Grindelwald's fall.

But as Harry intended to read more on this subject, he turned the page, completely enraptured by the story and the theory it transcribed, and as the page was turned, there was a bit clear block missing. There were about 20 pages or so missing, clearly ripped out by the fragments of said pages still attached to the binding.

Harry growled in anger as the build-up was all let down by the missing pages. He took this as an omen that he was to get up and leave, as the sun was getting fairly hotter, and he figured he would head toward the car wash. It would, at the very least, be a change of pace from laying on the grass at number 4 all day reading. Even in the short week of stuffing his brain with magical and muggle theories, spell incantations and wand movements, and even creature indexes, his brain was on full burn-out. It needed to cool off before it shut down completely. And the heat from the weather was no help with his overloaded mind running on fumes, running so much it seemed to be releasing his exhaust from his ears.

So gathering up his books, Harry walked into the house. He set everything down under the cupboard and then went up to the room that he had called his for the previous 4 summers. They did not keep him out of it, but made his life hell if he attempted to sleep in it, after he was escorted home by the Order the week before. So he simply stored his belongings there, he rarely slept anymore anyways.

"_You can sleep when you're dead"_ He had read. And unless he didn't sleep and read up, he'd be sleeping eternally very soon.

So, changing into a pair of jeans of Dudley's that he had cut the bottom half off of, but yet which still reached the middle of his calves and looked as if he could fit both legs in one pant leg, he slipped a simple white t-shirt on and then headed out of the house, walking to the end of Privet Drive and catching sight of the bright orange sign that advertised the Car Wash a block or so away.

So, as he began heading in the direction instructed by the sign, Harry stuffed his hands in his pockets and got a bit of time to reflect on the things that had occurred over the week since he was let back from Hogwarts and Madam Pomfrey.

He had been reading so much he was fairly sure that, with his current rate of 3 or so books a day, and about 4 a night, he could catch Hermione by the end of the summer in number of odd, little known facts that he could produce randomly in a conversation. And would surely surpass her in the amount of relevant information he knew within about 2 days.

But no matter how odd or little known the things he was learning were, they were still amazing information. He had learned about the Mage-Riders early on in the book he had been reading earlier that morning. The Mage-Riders were a very interesting discipline of wizards, as they embraced and even helped to shape early muggle culture. Their ability to understand and harness magic was so high that, should their magical techniques be taught to a muggle, it was believed that said muggle would be able to "wield" magic, as they said then, better than normal magicians or wizards of the time.

Thus it was also said that someone holding their abilities in modern day society would hold more magical ability than current wizarding mindset would know what to do with.

Harry shrugged this thought out of his head as he walked into the parking lot next to the park to the sight of a multitude of teenagers in shorts and swim suits alternating between washing cars and each other with the hoses and the buckets they had everywhere.

Harry walked along the sidelines of the lot, watching and looking for the girl he had seen earlier that day. As he was looking, he became aware of footfalls behind him. He turned to look and saw a guy chasing a girl. Actually, it was a guy chasing Kelly. They were both laughing, and he pulled his arm back and launched a water balloon at her. She swerved in her running pattern, and the balloon was left flying right at Harry.

Harry stood there, watching. Watching as the pink balloon flew at him in slow motion to his mind. And he watched it and was so confused by the events that all he did was watch it hit him. Watched as the thin rubber hit his stomach and a ripple went through the material before it broke at the point it hit him and the rubber literally tore itself apart from the impact, firing the water to Harry's body by the lack of material holding it any longer.

And as it inched up and down his shirt, the time sped up as Harry stood there with his shirt soaking and bits of pink rubber before him. He looked to the two, who were fairly oblivious to the action that had just occurred, and as Harry looked to them, the guy caught the girl, who didn't seem to fight much and half tackled her to the ground and then stopped moving completely as he lay over her. They locked eyes and then started to kiss.

Harry saw this and his brain had no thoughts on what had just happened. He wasn't exactly shocked or mad or anything, just lacking all understanding and feelings.

But as he stood there, watching for no apparent reason at all, he thanked the powers that be that after 2 kisses they were up off the ground. And then they saw him and the pink remains sitting on the grass and on his white fairly beat up shoes.

"Uh…oops." the guy said, Upon inspection, Harry was able to see he was fairly short. Actually very short, maybe barely making eye level with Kelly. He had a wide back and was wearing a tank top that seemed too small. He wasn't built very big, fairly thin and lithe, but because of how wide his back was, he looked bigger than he was. He had brown hair cut short and spiked in every direction with blonde tips.

"Ahh, Never mind him. Harry, this is Abel. Abel, Harry." Abel nodded at Harry, Harry did the same. Then Kelly observed the spot of water on Harry's shirt.

"Well, better we got you now than Tony or Kally got you with the hoses." She smirked and then started toward the lot where a line or 3 or 4 incredibly dirty cars were heading in at that moment. She looked over her shoulder and called out "glad you could come Harry" with what Harry was sure was a wink.

Harry turned and looked at Abel, who was brushing off his shorts from the grass that had attached itself in this short time on the ground. Once done, the other boy looked up at Harry. "Don't think anything of it. Nothing at all. She's flirty and if you think there is gonna be anything more out of it, then you are more dumb than you look."

Harry looked at him, and thought that it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself instead of Harry. And as he headed toward where Kelly had gone, making it so he had to walk by Harry, he brushed shoulders with the other boy. This might have been a frightening motion was it not made known by that action that, one, Harry was quite a bit taller than Abel, and two, Abel, for all the physical power he seemed to have, was stopped dead as he attempted to push Harry. He tried two and then three more times, but it didn't work. And for all the simplistic willowy appearance Harry gave off, Abel might as well have tried to shoulder-charge a tree.

Finally giving up, Abel side-stepped Harry and headed off toward Kelly. And there was something coming off of Abel that Harry thought was very foul. Something that set off any alarm in his mind.

Harry shrugged it off and headed out to the lot as well, watching as the young people there observed the 4 new cars with clear disdain before the hoses were turned on and the cars were literally attacked with water. And in the process, so were the teenagers within the 10 foot radius.

As Harry neared the area, water was being thrown around and splashed about, and soon he was hit as well. So much so that his shirt became completely soaked, so he took it off. He placed it on a tree limb to dry and took a seat, facing the car wash as he sat on it. He smiled to himself as they all laughed and played, and then watched as Kelly and another girl walked toward him. They were smiling to each other, both wearing bright colored bikinis and shorts and talking animatedly.

Finally they made it to him and Kelly spoke. "Harry, this is Kally." Harry looked to the girl. She looked remarkably similar to Kelly, only she had really bright hazel eyes. They were odd as, every few seconds their tint or color seemed to change, which was a very interesting contrast next to Kelly's blue eyes. They both had blonde hair that seemed to barely be making blonde, and border-lining red, and dimples on each cheek as they smiled and laughed on their way over.

Harry looked up to Kally and smiled, nodding at her in acknowledgement before rising from his seat under the tree. He stuck his hand out and smiled. "Hey, I'm Harry."

"Wow, he got up for you. He didn't do that for me. Must be someone special." Kelly cooed sarcastically.

"Either that or my leg fell asleep." Harry replied, but then glanced at Kally. She was smirking slightly.

"Harry, I asked you over here so you could meet her. Since I couldn't directly make any passes at you, seeing to my current relationship status, I figured mini-me here would do fine until I can ditch that asshole I affectionately call my boyfriend." Kelly said all of this in an overly-cheerful voice and with a big smile.

Kally rolled her eyes and then pushed Kelly and as the girl moved, Kally kicked her in her behind playfully. "Shut it you." She said with a laugh. "Besides, what are you talking about, I'm 20 minutes older than you."

Kally turned to Harry and smiled. "Look, forgive her, she's the tweedle-dum out of our little duo."

"So you two are twins…"

"Cousins actually. Very odd that we were born the same day and look this much alike. Add to it that we are related by our fathers, and therefore have the same last name, and with our mothers being oh so creative with naming us, it's a mistake everyone makes." Kally's smile hit Harry like a ton of bricks, its dazzling feeling shocked the hell out of Harry. The freckles across her nose added to the affect somehow, and Harry couldn't help but smile as well. Kelly looked at the two and smiled.

"Seems you two have hit it off, think I'll leave you two to it." she winked and walked off. As soon as she was back to the car wash, Kally let out a long breath and sighed.

"Its frightening how much I hate her actually. Really very scary. She has this notion in her head that I should be like her." She looked up to Harry. "Sorry about that. She wants me to be her replacement, wants to live her life through me, since we all know Abel won't let her go. Gotten herself into a hole with him and lives vicariously through her friends.

"You see, she refuses to believe yet that I want little to do with any guy she has her little 'instant attraction' towards, they usually all turn out dunderheaded pompous assholes. No offense. I just want to find my own person, not take anyone she throws at me."

Harry observed her through what could only be considered a rant, and nodded at the end. He was a little confused by her mood swing, but took it as a simple made-up speech to "let him down easy" as the girls often did to some of the guys at school. He shrugged his shoulders, nodded and sat back down. But she showed no signs of leaving once rid of him. She just stood there, looking at him.

"Do you intend to sit out here like this all day or something?" she asked, and before Harry could answer, he was pulled up and she stood him up and began dragging him over to the cars. She disappeared for a second, and reappeared holding a bucket and a sponge. She handed them to Harry and then disappeared again. Harry looked around for something to do, and saw many a car that could use a washing, but he cleaned when at home, why do it there too?

After standing there for about 3 minutes without moving, Kally reappeared, holding something behind her back. "Oh, I forgot the water," and with that she pulled out a hose and began spraying Harry with it. He was utterly drenched in seconds. And finally she stopped the downpour and stood there, laughing. What she missed was, although the bucket had been empty before, with her little impression of a London Rainstorm, she had nearly filled it up. And Harry was not about to let her treachery stand.

Moments later the bucket was emptied atop her head. And to emphasize his point, he placed said bucket on her head and gave it a pat. The entire car wash stopped completely. Everyone was watching, and suddenly they all began to cheer. Kelly walked over to Harry and gave him a pat on the back. "You did it! In 5 minutes of being here, you overthrew our little hydromanical tyrant here." She smiled and proceeded to give the bucket a pat as she walked by, something that had yet to come off of Kally's head.

She removed the bucket slowly, and her lack of appreciation for Harry's little prank reciprocity was clear. "You die. Now." and with that she began chasing him. Harry being no fool took off running from her. He had the advantage, wearing proper shoes and all, but she was one determined girl. She chased him around the lot about 4 times, around the grassy park area and even through the little tanbark and sand kid's playground area. It looked really odd, two teenagers running about through swings and slides and across monkey bars.

Finally Harry stopped and laid down on the grass on his back staring up at the clouds. "You win. I'm done running." Harry said, breathing deeply. He became aware of another gasping person next to him, and turned his head slightly to find Kally laying next to him.

"I'll let you off with a warning this time. Don't let it happen again." They had a light chuckle and then just laid in silence for a while.

And as Harry's eyes began to close and he became peaceful, he heard a voice he recognized clearly.

_Dudley_

"What is that fat bastard doing here?" he muttered to himself as he sat up and looked around. And sure enough, there was Dudley across the street with his friends, cigarette in one hand, and a rock in the other, watching traffic for a prime target.

And as a break in the cars appeared, Dudley and Harry locked eyes.

"Potter…" And Dudley launched the rock at Harry, it was coming straight at him when Kally sat up. It was then heading straight for her.

Harry reacted as quickly as possible, grabbing her shoulders and pulling her down toward him. The rock sailed over them both, hitting the grass and rolling a few times. Harry let Kally go and stood shakily. He looked to his cousin, who was snickering quite a lot to himself. However, what he missed was the police car that had just been waiting to drive into the lot for a wash. And the officer who had witnessed the whole thing. And was currently eyeing Dudley, who was dropping his cigarette from his mouth dropped open in shock.

It seemed that Fate had it in for Dudley, and Harry thanked her for that. For as the cigarette fell, it seemed to hit a lone patch of spilled motor oil, and the flames flared up and attached themselves to his pants, and slowly began to eat away at the material, burning along Dudley's fat leg.

Screaming in a high pitched sound boarding between a 5 year old girl and a pig, He began shaking his leg and screaming more and more. As he did this fanatical action, his hopping on one leg, besides inducing little jumps on the seismometer, he carried himself out into the street. And Harry saw this and almost laughed to himself at the irony. Many a times the Dursleys had requested he "go play in traffic" only, as it seemed, that one of their own would be killed by such an activity. Harry could see it, "Dudley Dursley, age: 16, cause of death: Dancing in the Streets."

Harry nearly laughed to himself, but was knocked out of his reminiscing of his cousin's death as a loud horn signaled its imminence. And as the car careened toward Dudley, time slowed for Harry as he watched his bug-eyed cousin's face as the automobile neared him, having swerved to miss him only to end up on a more direct and lethal path for the rotund roadblock.

* * *

He laid on his bed. Reading was moved inside that day, as the rain made its return with a vengeance. The gentle drum rhythms against the rooftop did not serve as appropriate reading music, as he found his eyes drooping closed every few seconds.

Yes, home alone for the first time in damn near ever, and he was upstairs, in his "room", reading.

"My, not only do I fail as a wizard. Fail as a savior. But I'm a failure at being a good teenager to boot. Wow, amazing. Can't even manage to die correctly either…"

And after his little rant, dust billowed up in a cloud as the large tome was slammed closed and tossed to the floor. Turning over onto his back and staring to the ceiling to, once more, begin counting the cracks in the ceiling, Harry allowed himself to rest.

And as he did, the world once more spun into and out of existence at the same time.

"Karma."

"Harry."

They greeted each other as such, and then sat down in two chairs, which were, outside of themselves, the only thing in existence at all it seemed.

"So, need I comment on the events at the park, or should I just let you deal with that in your own mind?" Harry shook his head, and she seemed to know which answer he was giving. "Now you see. Now you begin to realize the power you are achieving."

"But why then? Why couldn't they have shown up, like, 2 hours later or something? I mean, they had to mysteriously appear the one time I wanted to be completely helpless."

"But that tub of fat and bile that is your cousin must live. It is decided. He may be a grimy little bastard, well, not so little, but he has a purpose in everything, and we shall come to see soon that time can heal any wound or rift, given enough of it."

"That, or make it worse." Harry grumbled under his breath. She smiled at him and then stood and walked over to him. She stood him up and put her hands on his shoulders, holding him facing her.

"Harry Harry Harry, oh how I love you. You are the cynicism I need to live. Eons of people doing as you believe and seeing things as you do is boring. This is why I care about you so much, outside of other reasons. You are my opposite, and where I have pushed the world to the edge of existence, you will pull it back from extinction." And she did something odd. She kissed him. Not a kissy kind of kiss, but a sweet kiss on the cheek, so chaste it was almost sibling-like, or even motherly, as Harry could only guess, in some warped way.

And as she pulled away, she looked very sad. But she forced a smile and forcibly shoved him back into his seat.

"Now, Standard Meditation Form will be worked on for now. Alterations can and should be made for comfort and optimized performance, but the basics shall have to suffice…"

And long after, Harry having no sense of time in the place he was could only assume it had to at least be 3 hours or meditation and forms, Harry stood with a pop in his knees and a cramp in his lower back. Karma didn't make it any better as she slapped him squarely on the spot hardily and laughed. "Go get 'em Tiger. Grrrrr." and then she smiled and winked before the world began the slow transition back to its all too colorful and boring existence.

* * *

But as his eyes opened, after a period of rapid blinking and trying to clear away the light, he realized something. Light. There hadn't been light before. And there hadn't been voices.

"I really don't know. Its like, he refuses to move or something. Physically he's alive and breathing. By all appearances, its almost like he's just in a very deep state of concentration."

Harry looked up, glad his glasses were still intact and in place after his rest. He looked and saw bright hair. Tonks. And across from her was some other man Harry didn't recognize at all. But as he adjusted himself, the man took one look at him and nodded once, before heading out of the room and probably the house faster than was necessary to just leave. It was damn near a run, almost a fanatical, frantic one, and the door hit the wall and then closed behind him.

Tonks stood there, staring at him.

And staring

And staring

Finally it pissed Harry off. _"What!"_

And as she looked at him, suddenly he was laying back on his bed again from the force of her offensive action toward him. It was very…odd what she had done, and it hurt like hell.

She had literally dive-tackled him back onto his bed and laid there, half on him, and just looked at him. And finally she placed her head in the crook of his neck, hit him on the chest repeatedly and muttered, "Damn it Potter, what is going on inside that head of yours? Something is going on here, I can feel it. Open up to us…lemme know, _please_. I'm begging you."

And Harry stared at her. This was a totally unexpected thing. And he wondered why the world was spinning off of its axis around him. And then it hit him. Literally. The answer to his question came in the form of a bundle of paper from a brown Post Owl.

And the headline hit Harry. Hard. And it explained why the order was all around him. Why they were watching him. Why Tonks was so overly…whatever she was being.

**He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named Murders Whole Island Cluster, Over 150,000 dead in under 3 hours.**

_ With Death Eaters nowhere in sight many wonder exactly how You-Know-Who was able to effectively kill all these people alone. The Islands, a cluster rarely noticed or documented, an island specializing in Magical Advancements and Ancient Relics slated as the next Base of Operations for the "Dark Movement". Only one island remains, and within minutes it is slated for attack as well. The Ministry of magic, sadly, sits idly by, lacking the resources to act at the current time. More one page 2…_

Harry dropped the paper and he stared up at the ceiling before the world left as his consciousness abandoned him and the world went dark. And this time, there were no footsteps or Karma, just nightmares, or more, memories he didn't know he had. As screaming people tried to run but were surrounded. Surrounded by vile green flames as babies were burned alive and some tossed into a bonfire-like pile of burning green flames by animated furniture and people killed by their own families, and other ingested by their houses in some sick mimicry of some kind of perverted Disney movie sequence.

And as a woman with super-long black hair and Amethyst eyes ran past him, blood staining her front, but clearly not her own, flashes of lightning, blasts of water and shards of ice exploded all around her, small stuffed animals chasing her carrying knives and such, and Harry realized what had happened. He realized the sickening mind of the one people refused to name.

_Animation Charms_

Simple things that they were. one part transfiguration, one part charms, something simply taught in the last 3 years of Hogwarts, something he knew even Ron could pull off by the end of that coming year. Simple charm to animate the inanimate to do the biding of the caster. These simple, usually innocent charms, mostly used to make a playing card hover for seconds longer, or even to make chess pieces play on their own in Wizard's Chess, were being used to murder people.

And as the screams continued, the heat intensifying and the smell of burning flesh filled his nostrils…Harry realized something.

_Smell_

_Feel_

These were no ordinary nightmares.

"Harry Potter, how nice of you to join us. Seems I can indeed make this a clean sweep here and now. So, are you prepared to meet your wretched parents once and for all." Came the slithering, snake-like voice.

And Harry whirled around to find his enemy before him, his wand leveled. And Harry stood there, in his pajamas, defenseless and lost, in the middle of a war.

"Say Nighty-Night."

And the beginnings of an all-too familiar spell began to form on his thin lips. And Harry closed his eyes, running the information through his mind, and trying to gather up all the energy he had. And suddenly the words died down and time slowed down.

He opened his eyes to see two things happening at once. One, the world was slow. Super slow. Too slow. As in, the ash falling from the sky from the sickening fire was barely moving, almost suspended completely in the air, and everything around Harry was near a pause. Including the green spell heading toward him.

And also something else he noticed was, the woman who he had seen with the long hair had since fallen, and a small, round stuffed toy was diving at her, knife held somehow in its little paw.

Harry began to move, finding it difficult to move, taking a lot of time, but he was moving easily 2 times as fast as everything else. Meaning he might as well have not been moving to his mind.

But eventually he was out of the way, and as he put his mind into it, fought for it, his energy began to die down. And time sped back up. He made it to the doll as it finally fell toward the woman just as time resumed its speed. he grabbed its other arm and flung it, sending it flying back and into the course of the Avada Kedavra curse. And something very very odd happened.

You see, and animation curse is as close as possible to the opposite of the Killing Curse. And when two opposing spells collide, one of two things could happen.

If they are weaker spells, normally they would either cancel, or ricochet back randomly somewhere else. But with both spells having the power of Voldemort fueling them, the backlash was the second possibility, only, a lot worse.

The spells hit, and they seemed to slow before suddenly a soundless explosion erupted. It was much like WWII videos right after the A-Bomb hit, as a huge explosion would spread, but much too fast for even sound. And soon the sound caught up, so powerful all houses not burned down were blown away, and all fires were put out. And a rift was created. A big, solid crack in seemingly the material of the very world. A white crack surrounded by faint black outlining.

"What the…" and as Harry tried to finish speaking, the wind rocketed at him, and his voice disappeared as the crack seemed to begin to cause an earthquake that shook the whole island seemingly out of the water.

And then, as a rock sailed at him from its wedged place in the ground, Harry looked to Voldemort, and would have laughed so hard he would have died would it have been possible. He thought, "at least I'll die laughing."

As Voldemort, The big bad Dark Lord, stood there, eyes wide, mouth hanging open, and the most amazing look on his face.

He was scared. Scared paralyzed. So scared he was shaking more than the earthquake was causing. And then, to Harry's shock, The all powerful You-Know-Who, fainted.

And Harry smirked before the rock slammed into his head and his mind began to go blank. But as it did, Harry assumed it was all just hallucination of his injured head, but he knew he saw a tall figure step out from the crack that was ripped straight up into the sky. And the figure seemed to observe everything and then walk toward him, shaking his head.

* * *

"You know, that was arguably the most wonderful display of pure, unadulterated luck I have ever seen. Who'da thunk that you would become a better ambassador of Fate than even I could, and I _am_ Fate! Seems odd really, that somehow you saved that woman, who will have a bigger impact on your fate than you could even hope to realize, without my instruction. And purely and solely on your own devices.

"Potter, I really have no idea what to do with you. You scare me so, but amaze me more and more each day." came Karma's voice as she kissed Harry's head softly as he lay in his bed at Number 4, blood staining the gauze wrapped around his head near his right temple. She had taken the liberty of destroying the Dursley house until she found a first aid kit, and then moved Harry back into his room from the cupboard, and then had doctored Harry up as much as she knew how. She could not make appearances to people she had to influence directly. But as she looked to him, she figured, it was either that and she deal with the repercussions, or the world no longer have anyone to worry about her helping. She brushed her hand lightly over his hair before standing and raising her white hood and seeming to become more and more transparent before she walked toward the wall and seemed to go through it before disappearing completely.

* * *

"What do you mean vanished?" Albus Dumbledore asked, an edge in his voice clear even though he strained to hide it. And as Tonks opened her mouth to speak, the door opened and Severus Snape entered.

"Sir, he's here."

Dumbledore nodded and made a motion for Snape to let him in. Snape stepped aside, and in walked a tall form. And it was odd, as he stood there by Snape. Both men were tall, pale and thin, but it was still some contrast there as the man just let in was much more…solid and purposefully thin, while Snape was more…anorexic looking. But the biggest contrast was yet to come. Taking off the hood of the black hooded sweatshirt he wore, long white, perfectly straight hair cascaded out, which has an odd effect next to Snape's greasy black hair.

"Hello. I am Albus Dumbledore." Dumbledore introduced himself in a very polite and moderately calm voice. His usual calm voice that was so calm it was almost antagonistically devoid of emotion. The man, even from behind his sunglasses, was still able to make a face that showed he was, in no way, impressed.

"Yeah, well, since you British like going by last names, you can call me Nox." Upon saying this, every light in the room died. "What, did I say the magic word or something." He muttered as Dumbledore revived the light with a word and a weak wand movement. "So, ol' greasy dragged me here, what for."

"It would be very helpful should you remove your sunglasses. I assure you, it will not be too bright in here, but I would like to be able to know where you are looking and make eye contact with you."

Nox shook his head. "No, that's ok."

Snape fumed. "You insolent little prat. Don't you see who you are speaking to? He holds the power to exterminate someone like you easier than you would step on an insect. Do as he says, right now. Now!" and with that, Snape slumped to the floor. Nox had dropped him faster than Tonks or Dumbledore could even see what happened. Nox walked over, took off his sunglasses, but his eyes were still closed as he pulled the chair over and sat down. He faced Dumbledore, and Tonks, who was sitting on the edge of Dumbledore's desk, and then opened his eyes.

And Tonks and Dumbledore both sat back and looked at him. They were both in shock. Empty, completely black eyes. With no whites or colors, just straight blackness.

Dumbledore was the first to regain composure. He looked at Nox deeply, and for some time. Suddenly Nox leaned back in his chair languidly and smirked. "Your mind tricks won't work, sorry. You see, I've been through more and learned from it than you could in many lifetimes. I know, it took me a few to get this far." And he looked at Dumbledore intently.

This unnerved the wizard, but suddenly something left Nox's mouth that freaked him out even more. "So, you want me to join your little Order and be some kind of muscle-for-hire for you, run out there and kick people's asses for you so you get recognition, but none of your people get exposed, that the gist of it?"

Dumbledore stood there, in shock. He nodded slowly. "Well, you can shove your answer up your ass. Goodnight." He stood and made to the door. He stopped and walked over to Tonks and looked at her. He stared for a while, and she did the same. He smiled at her, something very odd, and then turned and was out of the room very quickly.

Tonks sat there, staring at the door which he had…which he had walked right past. And instead, had climbed up on the windowsill and leapt. She ran to the window, thinking it was weird if he would have rather killed himself that joined the Order, and when she looked, she saw something frighteningly odd.

He was walking, his hands in his pockets, his whistling reverberating off the stone walls of the castle to make it very loud. And where she realized he would have landed as he jumped, there was deep cracking and a small crater in the hard rock and dirt ground. And there, visible from even a few stories up, were the indents of his steel-toed boots where he had landed.

Tonks stood there, her jaw dropping. That man had dropped from, easily, 6 stories up, landed on his feet, and was walking away, bouncing with each step and whistling happily.

"Whoever you are…more like, whatever you are…" Tonks muttered before turning and leaving the office, through the door instead, making it a point to step on the still unconscious potion's master.

* * *

"What are you talking about?" Petunia Dursley shouted loudly. "And who is this you speak of!"

Harry sat up, wiping his eyes. He groaned loudly, and reached around for his glasses. He found them and put them on. But as he looked through them, he found that they blurred his vision more than they helped. Taking them off, he looked and there was a note under where they had been.

It basically told him that the person who had been doctoring him up had attempted to save his vision from his blow to the head. And in doing so, she appeared of have "accidentally" fixed the eye that had been harmed by the hit from the rock. And in doing so, she figured she might as well fix the other one. There was a little smiley face drawn at the bottom of the note, and no name, but he knew who it was from.

Harry wondered about his old glasses, for memento sake, but upon seeing the gauze and where the dried blood stain on it was, he realized that the rock must have destroyed the old frames. He smiled and mentally thanked Karma for doing what she had done, as his glasses had always caused an inconvenient weakness for him in combat. Any competent opponent would summon his glasses, and have him left there for easy pickings.

Remembering the screaming, Harry got up, unwrapping the gauzes from his head and tossing it to the trash after feeling and finding that it was not still bleeding.

He headed out of his room, and looked down the landing to find the police officer who had arrested Dudley the day before, or had intended to, standing there. And petunia did not look Happy. "Yes, I am here to speak to you about Harry Potter. My daughter, Kally, has asked to see him, and I felt the need to speak to you regarding the Dudley Dursley incident yesterday. Do you know of this Miss…"

"Mrs. Dursley."

"Oh, then I assume you do know of the incident then. If that is the case, then I will leave you. I am sure Kally can speak to Harry later." And with that the man left and Petunia closed the door, looking quite flustered.

Looking for answers on the "incident", Petunia turned and headed up the stairs. And as she did, she looked at Harry. And suddenly she grabbed his arm and dragged him into his room. She closed the door and stood against it, almost as to hold Harry captive inside.

"Tell me, Potter, clearly. What happened yesterday with my son and you?"

Harry regarded his aunt, and slowly began to open his mouth, when he saw something. Something interesting in her eyes.

His aunt was scared. Very…scared.

"OK, well, it started like this…"

* * *


	4. Chapter 3

**FFOmega  
**Part I: Bitter-Sweet Dreams

Chapter 3

Harry's aunt sat there, staring at him as he recounted event after event. _Every_ event, since the day Hagrid came and took him away. Huge Snakes, Swords, Prophecies, Hippogriffs, Murderers, Murders, and in the end, Death. And when it was all over, Fate.

It had begun hours before. They had sat there, him speaking, her listening. It had begun as the sun had begun to rise. And now, the heat was burning through the window, so much so Petunia had had to move from the window to a seat on Harry's bed. He hadn't actually known that anything had transpired as such, as his head had been down as he watched the ground, burning the positioning of the knots and dark streaks in the wood into his memory as he rattled of information. No words such as "I felt" or anything describing emotions came from his mouth. It was fact. But Petunia knew. And she felt, felt for him. And for all the heartless bitch she acted, that's what it was, an act. And act few knew she was doing.

Which had started oh so long ago in a Psychiatric Hospital few knew Petunia Dursley, alternately Petunia Liam had stayed in.

_Yes, Liam, not Evans, Never Evans_

* * *

But that in itself was a story few knew, and was not necessary for thought at the moment. The true story was, her emotions. She had long recognized them as well as others, and could almost feel them and had an adept understanding for them. However, she became all too wrapped up in them. So in this hospital, she had been told to get them in check. The only way they told her possible. Ignoring them.

_And if necessary, doing the opposite_

And thus born was Petunia Dursley. And for years and years, the woman known as Petunia Dursley lived as the opposition to who she truly was. And all actions the did, opposites of what she felt to do. For otherwise, fear of her true self being returned to the forefront of her conscious mind held her paralyzed in someone she was not.

_Truth_ was a word she did not know.

Because if she did, there would be no Petunia Dursley.

In all truth, she hated Vernon Dursley. _Deeply_. A deep-seated loathing for that tub of fat and disgust had been held in the back of her mind since the day she met him.

But thus, he was everything the man Petunia wanted wasn't. And as she looked at Harry as he sat there, his eyes hidden by thick lashes and a dark, downcast expression, he essentially looked like that man. Yes, Petunia had, in fact, had a major crush on none other than the late raven-haired Gryffin himself,

_James Potter_

She stretched her hand out to touch him, almost feeling lost in a void of time and space, really thinking it was him, trapped exactly as he had been the first time she saw him, head down as he tormented himself over her stupid sister and the words she had said to him. Her hand landed on his shoulder, expecting to see a pair of hazel, almost golden yellow eyes turn to her. And as he looked up at her, his emerald eyes hit her like a sack of bricks dropped from a very tall building onto her. And he was not James Potter. He was Harry Potter.

_Half of him was **Lily**_

She had locked that half, as well as the other half, the half of the man she claimed she _loved_, in a cabinet too small to be humane for most of the rats that inhabited the space often, for years on end.

And she was slammed into existence once more. She was awakened from her self-imposed exile in the depths of her own mind as she stared at those eyes. Those eyes that looked to her with a pleading, but also a fear.

"I…I' I'm sorry Aunt Petunia. I…I didn't mean to…, to, to go on like that. To break down. I should be telling you about Dudley now…I am sorry for veering off." He opened his mouth to speak again when she held up her hand to silence him.

"Harry. Harry…don't. Please…don't. I'm begging you, don't apologize. I should be the one doing that. You haven't done anything wrong, nothing at all."

And she smiled a weak smile towards him as her eyes welled up with tears, tears that had been held back for years, and, with an emerald burst of realization, the dam had just broken. No, not broken, become non-existent.

And miles below earth's surface, Satan pulled on a heavy winter coat out of his closet as Petunia Dursley, The World's Most Normal Heartless Bitch, wrapped up Harry Potter, _her nephew_, in a hug that quite possibly could have broken his ribs and dented his spinal column, whispering in his ear, "I am so very sorry."

And her tears spilled over, as his mind did its best to comprehend the situation. The only thought that was running in his head was,

_What in the hell…_

Miles down, Lucifer sat on his throne, cool wind displaying his breath as he breathed out, watching the flames systematically become icicles. "Nope kid, not even I know what'd happening up there. Sorry, can't help you. All I can tell you is, Hell has indeed frozen over."

And suddenly there was a sharp sound, similar to a knife on an ice cube, and there, skating in front of the Lord of Hell, was a group of Penguins on Ice Skates.

"Dammit, what the hell! I mean, there's ironic, playful, but this is just _wrong_!"

And as she held him, Harry felt something in his mind, an epiphany. No, a realization. She wasn't holding him, he was holding her. And it wasn't for him that she was hugging him, it was for her. But even more importantly,

This person wasn't his aunt,

And if she was…

The person he had grown to hate his whole life…

"Karma, keep playing with me, and I swear I'll choke the life out of you the next time I see you."

And in some indefinable place, everywhere but nowhere, said person was sitting back watching the events on a TV from a recliner, smiling to herself despite it all. "Don't blame me kid, some things even I don't see coming. This…this blindsided the hell out of me."

* * *

So it was with complete confusion that, less than 24 hours later, Harry was staring out of the car window as it moved down the expressway. This was the first time he could remember that his aunt was driving. He hadn't realized that she could, in fact, do so, as he had never seen her actually do it. And as he thought of her, he looked to her and saw something very weird.

She had been smiling a lot more as of recently. And it was unnerving him. The smile was less happy and more…more, like she had realized something after a long time that should have made her feel a lot better.

And as he turned back to the window, once more trying to run the information he had through his mind, trying to figure out what was going on around him, he felt something. It was like someone had taken a small needle and run it through where his heart was very quickly. He blinked and shook his head in an attempt to clear whatever was running through his head at that time, and then paid more attention to where, exactly, he was, as the car pulled into a parking slot and stopped.

And as he realized where he was, his jaw fell in shock.

"Uh…Aunt Petunia…why exactly are we here?" He asked as she strode into The Leaky Cauldron as if she owned the place and had been inside it every day of her life for the past few decades.

She did not make a sound, simply leading him to the back of the alleyway, opening her purse and producing a wand Harry recognized as his own, and tapped the correct brick, and the wall opened up for their entry.

His Aunt had a look on her face that he recognized. It was one that stated that she was on a mission, therefore she should be left as she was. he followed behind her, his footsteps maintaining an ever 1:2 ratio with her short strides, broadcasting to everyone within the vicinity that she was to be allowed a clear space in front of her.

Harry only realized where they were, in fact, going upon their entry into the large white building. Gringott's. Harry looked to the goblins as they approached them, fearing the discovery of his large personal fund and its soon-to-come depletion upon the Dursleys using it. However, as they got to the goblin and attempted to address Harry, Petunia spoke up.

"Look. Me, not him. Understand?" She fished out a coin purse from her purse and tossed a shimmering silver key onto the desk. The goblin observed it before sucking in a deep breath.

"We believed this account had been forgotten. It has sat idle for years upon years, decades even."

"So I expect it had maintained the interest rate we agreed upon?" Petunia voice, not as a question, but as a command. And for the first time, Harry saw a frightened goblin. It simply nodded to her statement and then called one of the goblins over to escort Harry and his Aunt to one of the cars.

And as they walked, Petunia glanced to Harry out of the side of her eyes, smiled slightly to herself, and reached up to ruffle his hair out of place completely, more so than usual.

_I can at least make things right now…I hope._

And during the ride down, deep into the depths of the earth, Harry watched as vault upon vault was passed. finally the car screeched to a halt so deep down that Harry had begun to sweat so profusely that his hair was not only matted to his head, but took on a styled rain-soaked look when he shook his head upon watching his Aunt walk to the vault and have it opened, revealing a humongous plethora of gold piles, along with sheets of paper and stacks of boxes.

"I see it has gotten its due amount of interest. Good. I shall be needing a way of transporting a good three-quarters of its mass within the next few hours. I have some dues to pay, and thus, I feel the need to have a suitable way of transporting this money. Do it. Expeditiously."

Harry eyed his aunt as if he had never seen her before. And in truth, he hadn't. The woman before him was not someone he had seen before. She was like a different person. But the importance of this change in character had yet to be made into more of an oddity.

He sat thinking about this when his aunt called him. It took him a moment, but he looked up to see her calling him into the vault. He stood and walked in, looking around at the money, which seemed to have been categorized, organized and the amount filed in an almost anally neat manner before piles of it just began to pile on the floor. He did pass several stacks of papers, bond and stock certificates for many American and Japanese companies, a few in things like a company called Microsoft, and some for less known ones like some mushroom company in Tokyo, Japan. However, as he was nearing his aunt, she was looking at one particular one. One that looked out of place among stock certificates and papers stating the monetary value in most national and even some international currencies, of the vault's holdings.

"Yes Aunt Petunia…?" Harry muttered, breaking her out of her reverie as she stared at the piece of paper silently and sadly, near tears almost. She didn't look at him, almost as if she couldn't, but simply handed him the paper before recomposing herself and walking over to the goblin to discuss something.

And in Harry's hand, he held his birth certificate.

And as he looked at it, not focusing on too much, he looked as he saw that his writing was oddly more similar to his mother's than his father's, his father's having a powerful, heavy-handed style, while his mother's more understated and softer on the paper.

But as he looked from their signatures, he saw something that unnerved him.

"My first name is…Heron! What the…"

His Aunt turned at this and looked at him. She smiled sweetly, looking at him as if he should have known this. "Why yes Harry dear, it is."

"But…But I…I always thought it was Harold…"

"As in something like 'Harold of the world's salvation' or something like that? Your mother was one of the great haters of irony in life, and she would have been damned when Dumbledore told her that her baby would grow up great, to have some cliché name for her child to have to bear. And besides, Jimmy would have had a fit if his kid was cursed with some stuffy name. He was stuck with James, he wouldn't put that on you.

"So, given both their love for flying, and the fact that it was a heron that James used to confess his love for your mother during the summer after their 7th year, you got a very special name."

Harry was slack-jawed and dumbfounded. He stared forward at nothing as he stood there, absorbing the mass amount of information he just got in little hints from his aunt.

And had she just called his father _Jimmy_?

He sighed and looked around some more, finding bits and pieces of filing, little more important, but as he was about to open another set of files, he was called by his aunt. He walked over and they got in the cart, thankful that the vault had had years to cool from the vacuumed air, this cooling his body off. However, on the ride up, Harry was forced to let his questions simmer until the noisy, quick ride was finished.

Upon leaving the bank, his aunt holding some sort of velvety purple bag of sorts, Harry turned to her. "What was that vault all about?" He asked as the only semblance of a complete sentence he could form from his own fried-from-shock brain.

"That vault…well, that vault was what your mother left to me. She left that mass of money, money she intended for me to use to…do something…and all the personal things she wanted kept forever."

"What…something, are you talking about." Harry asked, ignoring her clear want to refrain from answering this.

She sighed. "She left me that money…well, part of it was to take care of Dudley, myself, and you should you ever need to come to me for anything."

"And the rest…" Harry asked as she paused.

"The rest, that was left as a deal. I would open the vault and access the money if I agreed to…leave Vernon."

If Harry had been thunderstruck before, he didn't know what else he was after that statement. He looked at her for some time, before she smiled at him, and walked him toward store after store, window-shopping like a pro, before finally dragging him into one store.

Looking around, his senses were assaulted by color upon color, and a vast number of witches circulating the room, which had lines of counters with glass fronts and covers around the room, leaving walkway space behind the counters, and floor space for patrons of the store to mill around in.

She lead him over to one of the counters, and looked through, Harry seeing that this was some sort of jewels and rare finds store. Petunia walked over to one of the bubbly sales girls and asked for the manager. The girl nodded and disappeared into a back room before an older woman came out. Upon coming out, she gasped slightly and then disappeared back the way she came. Upon re-entering once more, she carried a long thin box, which reminded Harry of a safety-deposit box. She placed it on the counter wordlessly, nodded to the both before turning and walking back to the back of the store.

Petunia opened the box and pulled out two items before handing them to Harry. They were two rings, and it only took seconds for Harry to figure out what he was holding.

His parents wedding rings.

Petunia answered his unasked question. "I had them put here to be restored upon their return from the reports on their bodies."

Harry looked. The ring he knew to be his father's was not outstanding in too many ways. It was a golden ring, with some kind of inscription all around it in a language Harry did not know, said inscription inset in a red color. Harry looked to it and found that it oddly fit his middle finger snugly, and fit his ring finger on both hands comfortably. He placed it on his right ring finger, finding it comfortable, and feeling a feeling of warmth wash over him.

And then his gaze fell on his mother's ring. It was an amazing shimmering silver band, that seemed to shine too brightly to really be silver. The main stone was a large shining green gem of some sort, he assumed it was an emerald. It was absurdly clear, setting little more than a slight green tint on the world when he squinted and looked through it.

Flanking it on either side were diamonds, one on each side of the emerald that was about half the green gem's size. The ring was beautiful, and running along the bottom was an inscription similar to the one on his father's ring, only less as to make room for the stones set into the top. Harry smiled softly and sadly as he looked upon them. He began to place it down, moving to take his father's ring off when his aunt placed her hand on his shoulder.

She had called one of the sales-girls over and asked for a chain. It was a shimmering silver chain, of a good length, and she handed it to Harry. He held it looking confused for a moment, so she took it back, not at all impatiently, but more in understanding, and threaded the chain through the ring hole in his mother's ring before re-attaching the clasp and slipping the necklace over Harry's head. She ruffled his hair again before going and talking to one of the girls, Harry standing there staring at the rings once more. Soon she took his arm and led him out of the store.

She looked at him before scoffing at his general look. "Those clothes…they aren't going to work. Much too big." She looked at him before pulling the shirt on one side on the side of his body around and completely back around his body. "Yes, much much too big. Dudley is a fat little piggy isn't he…"

Harry looked at her as they headed down the street, and eventually out of Diagon Alley. They got into the car and drove deep into the heart of London's shopping scene. Harry was awed at the fashionable women and men walking the streets in their clothing that looked as if they had hopped down from a runway and taken to, instead, prancing the streets.

Eventually they pulled to a stop and got out, Harry looking around in wonderment as they heading into a boutique of some kind. Upon entry, he heard clicking of tongues as oddly effeminate men and women wearing short hairstyles observed him. He was mobbed and soon found himself being measured, poked, prodded, pinched, some in places he wasn't too sure he wanted to be pinched, poked or prodded, especially when he couldn't figure out who was doing it. Within moments he lost his shirt to a fairly cute girl with short, styled brown hair and thin eyebrows, who winked at him as she yanked the shirt over his head. She then pushed him through the mob and through a back door.

As he entered he stood in the room all alone for a few moments. After what seemed like an eternity, the door opened and a girl about his age sauntered through, looking over papers on a clipboard.

She had long hair, an oddity in the shop it seemed, outside of the men with the ponytails, and her lithe form was strutting toward him, still not looking at him.

She was making marks before walking behind him. She looked at him, observing his back and messing with his hair, checking its texture and length, pulling it down and seeing its length once it lost the volume it seemed to get in its mess. She walked around him, pulling his pants back to show his legs' true size and shape, before making it to face him.

And as she looked him in the eyes, she gasped. Harry looked at her in confusion, as she seemed to know him from somewhere. And as he looked at her, the realization wiped over him all too slowly.

Her name was Blaise Zabini. The Slytherin "Queen" as they called her. He remembered her from a brief incident involving a hall, not watching where one was going, spilled books, and a scowl from "Her Majesty of Snakes."

And him knowing her name could also have been thanks to the nametag she wore. One doesn't meet many Blaises in one's life.

She looked at him with her shimmering mahogany, almost red eyes, as her light brown hair framed her face with not a lock out of place. She seemed to want to hide the light sprinkle of pale freckles across her nose, but it wasn't working too well, and she had on a pair of reading glasses sitting perched on her nose ever-so-precariously. She looked oddly…_cute_ for someone born to be his enemy, but he figured that there was something different about her from school.

He replayed the incident in the hallway in his mind, to remember her not only not wearing glasses, but lacking any facial "imperfections" such as freckles or anything like that, her face pure and smooth as porcelain. He grumbled at this change, before looking into her eyes once more to find her still observing him. "Well Potter, seems you are in need of some new clothes and a new look. Lord knows you need it."

"Seems so. What's a pureblood like you doing working here, in the muggle world?"

She looked uneasy. "Between me and you, I'm not exactly a pureblood. My mum is half, my dad was a pureblood. So officially I am 3/4s, but my family still has a love for the muggles. That, along with the fact that I wanted a place to go to try on and buy clothes, the newest fashions, Mum figured this would be a great place for me to work at." She turned her back to him and pushed a button on the far wall, which flipped a panel over with a group of numbered buttons on it. She put in some numbers before pushing another button, and the wall opened up to show a long double-decked set of clothing racks. They moved down, setting in different places with a large array of clothing, which Harry figured were all in his size. "So Mister…Harold Potter, savior of us poor, weaker wizards, let's get you started trying some of this on."

Harry eyed her before walking up to the side of her, looking as she fished through the rack, the top with tops and the bottom with bottoms…oddly fittingly enough. "Actually, My name isn't Harold. Its Heron."

Blaise stood back, holding a pair of khaki shorts and a black top, and looked at him oddly. "Heron. Like…the bird?"

"Yeah, I just found out today."

She shrugged with a roll of her eyes before handing him the clothes. "Change. Now." Harry eyed her oddly in confusion. "Come on, I don't have all day." He again looked uncertain. "Look, its nothing I haven't seen before. Just hurry up, I don't have all freaking day, okay. Get it? Got it? Good." and with that and a sharp tug on his baggy pants, they became loose from his hips, slipping down lower on his thighs, as Blaise took the point of pulling the tight black shirt on over his head.

Soon she had him dressed in what she had picked out. She approved of this and then set him to work on a mass of other outfits, liking some and putting them in a group of "keepers" and then tossing some back on the rack, not liking them. Soon they had all the clothes they needed. That only left one thing.

She looked to his discarded sneakers, which oddly had the appearance of talking. She groaned before pulling out a metal contraption and placing his foot in it. She slid a metal piece down to the tip of his foot and looked at the numbers on the side. Her eyebrows raised, and she looked up at him, and then back down at the numbers.

"This is odd…Completely unexpected."

Harry looked at her in confusion as she made note of this on the clipboard. "What is?"

"Well, your shoe size isn't proportional to your height. Like…badly off."

"How?"

"Well, you are about a size 11 or so, and u aren't too much over 1.8 meters tall. And that is very unusual."

Harry eyed her as her eyes settled somewhere that made him oddly uncomfortable, as it was somewhere about midway on his body that she was eye level with when kneeling like she was. He heard her mutter something about "you know what they say about big feet" before she cleared her throat, stood and walked over to the rack again. She was flushed in the face and was adjusting the collar on her white shirt and fiddling with her glasses before she pulled out some more clothing and tossed them to him, not looking at him.

Harry had a sneaking suspicion he had, in some way, caused this. So, despite her Slytherin-ness, he walked over to her to make sure she was okay. He placed a hand on her waist as she was kneeling down, or more he tried to. Because at that moment she shot up, her head banging into the bottom of his chin. His head reeled back, and she spun to see what had happened, successfully jabbing the shoebox she had retrieved into his stomach, causing him to begin to stumble back. She reached out a hand to catch him, only to have him grab her wrist as he stumbled back, slipping on the metal foot-measurer she had left on the ground, thus pulling her into the fall with him.

He fell, and proceeded to break her fall, and she landed on him. And they laid like that, a mass of hair, limbs, and locked eyes.

Both made to move at the same moment, only to stop simultaneously. They reached a stalemate as neither attempted to move after that. And they laid that way. And then Blaise spoke. "You know, you aren't as bad as those Junior Dark Lord's Tea-baggers In-Training have you pinned to be. You just might work out, flyboy."

She sat up, still sitting on him, successfully straddling him. She looked down at him before winking seductively and laying back down to be pressed back against him. She leaned down and pressed a light kiss on the tip of his nose before leaning up over him, effectively pressing her…chest…against Harry's face as she reached for the shoes, which had fallen across the floor in the commotion.

She then sat back and turned, still straddling him, only with her back to him now, and proceeded to place the shoes on his feet. And as she did this, Harry was able to reflect on two things.

One, This was shaping up to be a weird day, the weirdest and most insanely abnormal of his life,

…And…

Two, There was a Slytherin straddling him like a horse, dressing him. A Slytherin with a nice ass. A _very_ nice ass. And what were those two thin pieces of material showing as her pants slipped lower as she leaned down?

Harry groaned in his frustration as Blaise took to moving her body slightly as a song came on over the PA system that Harry just realized was on, or more, just realized was playing a fairly decent song that wasn't crappy elevator music.

Finally Blaise stood before turning and putting her hand out to help pull him up. Having a bit of fun, instead of trying to pull himself up, he pulled her back down all over again. He got up before her after that, and leaned his hand down to help her. She made to repeat the action, but he yanked her up to her feet, gave her a solid slap to the ass and turned and walked over to the rack of clothing to have a look of his own.

"You know Potter, that was very Slytherin of you."

"The hat wanted me in Slytherin." He voiced matter-of-factly. Blaise was stunned. In a different world were Potter was a Slytherin, she could have seen herself dating him. No, in that world she would have dated him, period. No ifs ands or buts about it. And if Parkinson got in the way, Malfoy's little whore would be having something else jammed up her ass. Namely, Blaise's shoe.

Who was she kidding. She would date him as a Gryffindor. As a Ravenclaw. Hell, she'd date him as a Hufflepuff.

No, that was taking it _much_ too far. She would never date a Hufflepuff. Ever. Even if it was Harry Potter.

She looked at him as she slid her hand across her ass where he had hit her. She growled deep in her throat. No one out-teased the Queen of Slytherin. No one.

She slid her hand along his spine, leaning down next to him. Her hand traveled from his lower back up to his shoulders, over his shoulders, and across his neck, dragging her nails ever so slightly.

Harry showed no signs of acknowledging this, and this pissed Blaise off. She finally just growled and pushed him on the floor. He landed on his back and she stood on either side of him, her heels on each side of his waist. She then lowered her body, still on her feet but effectively sitting on his lap.

"Look," she pulled the pen off the clipboard and grabbed his hand. She jotted down a set of numbers. "Call. Soon. Like, call at 5 today. Got it? Perfect." And with a flourish she signed her name under the number. She then stood, an oddly incredible feat considering she had just did all of that while her heels were still firmly on either side of his body, the spike heels almost a threat of the pain to come should he not call. He nodded dumbly before getting himself up. She turned, winked, and then disappeared out of the door, motioning for him to follow. He did so, and was soon back in the main room, only then noticing the chairs and the hair-treatment facilities.

Blaise led him to a chair, where he was thrown down and many people went to work on him. He looked for his aunt to find that she had her head under a drier and was wearing a bathrobe as someone did her nails and feet. She had her eyes closed, and Harry simply smiled as he let his mind close down as the chair went back and his head went into a black sink as all-too-warm water, perfectly tempered to put him in a deep calm, soaked his hair.

"Wotcher there Harry, looking good." Tonks' voice sounded over him. Harry opened his eyes to see Tonks standing over him, looking down. Her hair was long and a very light brown color, falling to about her mid back. It was tied back and she had bright blue eyes. Her full lips were curled into a smile as she observed his form, as his hair was being washed by one of the short-haired women with odd almost black eyes with flecks of green and gray in them somehow.

They washed Harry's hair before wrapping a towel around his shoulders and sitting him up. They dried it fairly well before grabbing a pair of scissors and beginning to snip away at his hair. Not as a cut, but enough to eliminate the messy-look, which was mostly caused by a build-up of thick hair and too much volume in certain places, which was adjusted in a way he did not understand.

Once some of it was changed and utterly harassed by the women in the right places, his hair would lay flat and stay able to be styled. Harry would have objected to this, being one of the few things left that reminded him of his father, but as he felt the golden band on his right ring finger, he sighed and allowed it to be done.

After an hour or so of the annoying sound of scissors snipping away, he opened his eyes as they spun him around to the mirror to look at himself.

He had been reborn as a new person.

His hair laid around his face, fairly long, the back hanging to his just past his neck, the top falling neatly and orderly, and effectively concealing his scar. All in all, as he stood there in his new clothes and with his new hairstyle, he liked it.

Blaise came over behind him as he stood before the full-length mirror and slipped her arm around him. "Looking good. I'd say you might just give Malfoy a run for his money in the hot-but-evil category this year, but I always thought the little scrotum-tonguing ferret was ugly, so I say you have him thoroughly trounced." And she smirked as she looked at him through the mirror. "Remember to call me later, babe." And with that, she disappeared back through the door she had taken him into.

* * *

Tonks looked at Harry. "So, getting admirers are you Harry?" she asked, looking at him with a slight smile on her face. Harry blushed slightly, moving his hair off his shoulder, as its ability to blow in the wind did not go unnoticed to him, and needless to say, it was annoying the hell out of him.

Tonks looked at him, brushing some hair from his face as she looked up at him slightly. "Just remember, I had you first. I got first dibs on you when you decide that the fairer sex is ready for the debut of Harry Potter the Playboy." She smiled at him after saying this before brushing one last stand of hair from the side of his face, placing it ever-so-delicately behind his ear before smiling and walking off down the street for the shift change.

Harry had been sure to thank his Aunt on the ride home until she stopped him. Which wasn't too soon after. She had come out looking so much more like his mother that is shocked him. The evil disposition she had been carrying had seemed to be attacking her body and her bone structure, and, once gone, everything had righted itself. Her face became less horse-like and softer with its curves and angles. Her cheekbones stood out ever so subtly, and with the curls in her light chestnut hair, which, for once looked healthy and not so brittle, her face was framed nicely. With some more food in her system, she would fill out nicely, and Harry finally could see how her and his mother were related.

She had taken him back to the house, where they had unpacked all of his things, and asked Tonks to magically enlarge the room. Even at his not overly-above normal height, he was still much taller than Dudley, and Petunia wanted to afford him room to place household amenities that would make his almost constant stay in the room comfortable. So with Petunia planning, Tonks working her magic, literally and figuratively, and Harry forced to sit on the porch until they were finished, he wouldn't get to see his room for some time.

After she finished, Tonks had come out and they had had that odd experience before she left. So, turning after shaking it off as her messing with him, Harry headed into the room that had been the smallest in Number 4 Privet Drive.

Petunia was working some things out in her room before Vernon got home, and Dudley was out somewhere else, so Harry was fairly alone. He walked up to his room and opened the door to be completely floored by what he saw.

The room was magically expanded to be much bigger than it was before. About 5 times bigger. The room had sections, it was truly a flat in of itself. There was a living-room area, where Harry had his own Television, along with a radio and a Wizarding Wireless. There was a couch along with a coffee table. On the other side there was a large bed that looked much like the Gryffindor bed he slept in. His trunk was on that side as well, and there was a wardrobe that held all of his new clothing and shoes. On the dresser that held his personal items was his wand, some polish, and the hair products the boutique had given him.

Harry settled down on the bed, leaning back and staring up at the ceiling. He was infinitely grateful that the unicorn's blood had served to start curing his ailments, starting with his eyesight, as he had the urge to stare at the ceiling until he fell asleep without the worry of waking up to shards of glass in his bed.

Soon however, he sat up on the bed, inwardly reminding himself to wake up at about 4:30, and then began the mind-clearing ritual to bring about the meditative state that would put him on contact with Karma.

The time spent with the woman who was much like a surrogate mother went well, Harry learning new mental techniques, even a way to bypass the mental block he himself had put up against Occulmency due to his hate for everyone who tried to teach it to him.

Eventually his time ended and he awoke, thankful that Karma had taught him the ability to set him mind to awaken from meditation at a given time, else he would probably lose track of time and spend much too much time in wherever they were with her.

Harry stood from his bed, walking around his trunk to head out of the room toward the phone when there was a knock on the door. He went to open it, glancing at the clock in the room as he did to find it was 4:31. He smiled at his mind's timekeeping before opening the door.

And before him stood Tonks. The Tonks Harry had seen earlier that day. She smiled at him sweetly, brushing the hair back behind her before looking slightly nervous. "Harry…I think we need to talk. Actually, I know we do. Are you doing anything right now?" She caught Harry glancing to his hand and the number that was written there, and she smiled before pulling out her wand. She pointed to the table, transfiguring the wizarding radio into a phone. The cord spiraled simply into the floor, and Harry looked at her in confusion.

"You can call her, I'll step out, just let me know when you are done." She smiled again and then stood and walked out of the room wordlessly. Harry looked at the door for a few moments in confusion before picking up the phone and dialing the number on his hand.

The phone rang a few times before someone picked up. It was Blaise. And she sounded annoyed. "You know Potter, calling early makes you sound desperate. I don't even know if I want to talk to you now."

Harry listened to the silence for less than a second before he got indignant. "Look Zabini, I'm not in the mood. I have someone here who needs to talk to me, and she showed up and needed to talk. I remembered that _you_ told _me_ to call you, so I wanted to be a good person and do so. If you don't want to talk, fine." And Harry moved to slam the phone down. He was not in the mood for bossy Slytherin females at the time. Tonks had something she had wanted to talk to him about, and she did not look like her normal carefree self.

He heard Blaise shouting for him to stop, so he picked the phone up and put it to his ear. "What!" He shouted, into the receiver.

"Once more Heron, you surprise me. Your Slytherin side is not one to be messed with. And between us…its turning me on." Her voice was low and seductive, and Harry could feel himself getting hot around his collar. "If you have something to do, that's fine. Just make sure you keep my number, and you can call me any day during the week after 4 and anytime on the weekends. You never know, we could maybe get together over the summer. But at the very least, we could talk during school. Okay?"

""Yeah…sure."

"Bye Harry, dear!" Where Blaise's last words before she hung up.

Harry set the receiver down and stared at it for some time. She had gone from calling him Potter to Heron to "Harry, dear". It was very…awkward to him. But he shrugged and went and let Tonks in. She was standing in the hallway twiddling her thumbs.

She came in and closed the door, standing with her back against the door, looking at him. She took and deep breath before speaking softly and slowly. "Harry…this is going to be weird. Very weird. But I need you to trust me. And…let me do this."

Harry looked at her in confusion as she walked toward him, stopping so she was standing in front of the coffee table. She set down a package that she pulled from a bag she had been holding that he hadn't noticed. She suddenly grabbed him, slipping her hand behind his neck and pulled him to her, laying a kiss on his lips.

It was far from Cho's kiss, and it had an affect on him that caused him to lose control of all of his limbs. His arms snaked around her body, and his lips deepened the kiss. It was like his mind had shut down and opened up all at the same time. One of his hands slid up along her back, his fingers dragging along her spine, while the other dipped down to the curve that was the small of her back and stayed there.

The kiss lasted for some time, and as it broke, Harry's eyes opened slowly to find Tonks still with her eyes closed, lips still puckered ever so sweetly and tasty looking.

He didn't know what came over him, as he leaned down to take her lips in another kiss, and she deepened it so much that Harry fell back over the coffee table only to land on the couch, her still on top of him.

Their kiss deepened more and more until it was near a hunger to devour the life within the partner, kissing as if the secrets to the universe where buried in the other person, and if their tongues dug deep enough and their souls entwined tightly enough, they would find their answers.

And as they rolled, Harry rolled right off the side of the couch, landing on the floor. Tonks still on top of him, she looked him in the eyes. And she kept staring at him before standing up. She helped pull him up, Harry was tempted to deploy what he would refer to as the "Potter Pull" as he had done to Blaise before, but the look on Tonks' face told him that it was best he not. They stood and Tonks stared at him some more.

She leaned up on her toes and pressed her lips to Harry's once more, still holding his hand in her's. There was a feeling in that kiss that had lead Harry to believe that there was something in her, something on her mind that was driving her insane, and he had just calmed it completely. And behind that, there was a fire raging so deeply in her that it was driving him insane simply because he was that close to her.

"Harry…thank you…thank you for trusting me…but, I…I have to go…before I can't." And with that she turned from him and walked out of the room and closed the door behind her, never looking back.

Harry dropped himself back onto the couch, letting his head fall back and sighed loudly. The day had been insane, and it was driving him crazy that he couldn't figure it all out.

He finally sat up and lifted the package Tonks had left. Inside there was a shimmering Silver watch. It had a red inset face, and the numbers shined even in the low light. He slipped it onto his left wrist before looking to the note under it. It was in a handwriting Harry recognized for no reason at all.

_Harry,_

_If you have this, then I went through with it. A disastrous event it may or may not have been, I have been tearing myself up over it for the longest time now. But this isn't about that. You see, I won't make it seem like there is no point for this watch. The watch, in essence, is a tracker, but so much more than that._

_It lets me know where you are. No, not the Order, Me. And I will be damned if anyone, even Dumbledore tries to make me use it when we don't want it used. Should you ever be in trouble, there is a button on the side that will immediately portkey you to my flat. From there, I can only assure you that I will do anything that I can to keep watch over you and your safety. No, not keep watch…Protect you. You need that. Not a watcher, not an overbearing adult, a person who cares about your safety…And I will try and be that._

_The watch can also act as a Position Placer, a clock-like piece that locates family and friends. Hands can be added should they be needed, but at the moment there is just Hermione, Ron and I on there. I do hope you stay safe, and the instructional guide for the watch is within the box, along with a few other things I felt I needed to include for you._

_Remember Harry…_

And here the words were scratched out furiously. Harry simply set the letter down in the box absurdly delicately before laying back on the couch as he stared up at the ceiling.

"Boy the shit has really hit the fan today. Karma, keep messing with me, and I swear you die, and the world can too. Because if either of these beautiful women are doing more than playing with my head, I might just sit this war out. You know what they say, Make Love, not War."

And with those words and a goofy smile plastered across his face, Harry Potter fell asleep.

* * *


	5. Chapter 4

**FFOmega**

Part I: Bitter-Sweet Dreams

Chapter 4

The Pain the waking of the next morning brought was something Harry hadn't expected. He had drifted off that last night with a smile on his face, and had had his dream interrupted by Karma, who had arrived simply to bid him good luck, as she said events would soon transpire that he would need such luck to deal with.

And he had awoken to find a hand on his throat. His eyes shot open to find that he was floating above the ground, as said hand held him up. He looked to see long pure white hair and deep, empty black eyes. And he looked at the person before him in complete shock. It was the man from the forest.

Upon seeing Harry was awake, the tension applied to the boy's neck eased, and a smirk appeared on the figure's face. He set Harry down on the bed, and then crouched before him. "I assume you are wondering why the hell I am here, eh?" Harry nodded, still slightly nervous, as he knew what the figure could do and how dangerous he was. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you, not at all. Quite the contrary actually, I am here to protect you."

Harry was completely confused. "And why would you do that?"

"I have been alive for a long, long time." Harry looked at him awkwardly. The man looked no more than 23 at the most. However, the man seemed to suspect this. "Not as this person. I am…there are a group of people in this world called The Locked. We are people who are cursed to live our lives again and again, living over and over each time we die until we can obtain the keys to become unlocked. The problem is, the only way to get the keys are to kill the people who house your key in the depths of their souls.

"I'm off track. Lets say this. I have lived a long time, and I know when things are happening, I can feel it, the change in the way the Earth is running, the change in how I am seen in the world. And I have always been a firm believer that Fate will send to me only people who I need, or who need me."

Harry smirked at the mention of Fate, before asking, "and which do you think it is."

"Well Kid, I think it's both. But I do know that something is coming up, and I know that I will have to help. Forget have to…I want to. I need to.

"Its been a long time since I have had a want to live at all. And this…I guess you are helping me more than I can ever help you."

And with a smiled, he reached over and grabbed his white backpack. "Harry, this is a special backpack, made for me by an old friend. It is incredibly weighted, and able to be altered for more weight, but only by me. I use it to keep my legs trained and my speed up, and to you, I loan it. You should carry it everywhere with you, and run as often as you think you can. You may be a young wizard, thinking all your life will rely on that wand, but forget your hands, by which I know you live. Your legs, they are your life, and will be even more so when I am through with all of this."

Harry stared at the man. "Who…who are you?"

"I…I, Harry, go by Nox. But you may call me Kyoto. It is my first name, and the last person to call me it was my sister." Harry was fairly touched by this for some reason beyond him. He smiled and nodded, before the man tossed the bag at him. It easily weighed about 30 pounds, and knocked the air from Harry. And then, climbing onto the windowsill, The man crouched and leapt out of the window, flying many feet into the distance before landing and speeding off much too fast to be humanly possible as spells were fired at him by who Harry knew were Order Members.

Moments later, Tonks ran in, checking to make sure Harry was alright. He smiled and nodded, and Tonks sighed before running her hand through Harry's hair and turned and left.

And carrying the pure white backpack with him, Harry set out to walk around the town. He got an owl instructing him to call Blaise from the girl herself, and he did so, but only 15 minutes after the instructed time. He got an earful, but rolled with it only to be told that she was having an upcoming birthday party, and that he was to be there. She would make the arrangements, and that apparently it was outside of his ability to deny her.

He laughed to himself as he walked down the street of Privet Drive, and eventually into a back corner of the park, intending to do some reading in a section no one went. He didn't realize that said laughter was done aloud, or that he had an audience to his actions.

"Do you normally laugh for no reason, or are the voices in your head just making random comments again?"

Harry thought to comment back as Kelly walked behind him, but just shook his head and continued walking.

"You ought to answer me, you know. You are gonna need me pretty soon."

There wasn't a lot of things he felt that he needed to know from the girl, especially with the events arising around him. And besides, considering Blaise and Tonks, he had no thoughts about Kelly much anymore. However, her next comment made him turn to her.

"Potter, you never were the brightest of people." Turning to her, the white backpack on his back slipped from his shoulders. That was a voice he recognized. A voice he hated with everything that he was. "I mean, you would think that, after a certain amount of time, you would give up on trusting people and just start…expecting bad things to happen around you."

There she stood, steel eyes sharp enough to cut you, with long flowing black hair. Her body looked awkward in the clothing Kelly had been wearing, as the bright colors seemed to clash horribly with her dark appearance. And even more so, with her dark soul.

"Bellatrix…"

"Right in one."

"What do you want?"

"Nothing…" And she began to walk toward him. His body tensed up as she reached out from behind him. "Nothing much at least…"

Harry turned so that she was not behind him, and his eyes glanced over her quickly. He saw no place where she could stash a wand, or any other type of weapon, but he still didn't trust her.

She leaned over to him, slipping behind him so she could whisper in his ear. "You could have everything. Everything you have always wanted." She trailed her hands from his lower back around to his stomach. "My master could help you fulfill all of your dreams…" Her hands ran lower until they were where he did not care for them to be. "I could be all of your desires." And her tongue licked out to his ear. For the most part Harry was stunned into paralysis, and could do little to stop her. "All you have to do…is join us…" And then her fingernails trailed from his lower waist to slide along his left forearm. And there was a burning in his forehead, and Harry awoke from his stupor with a start. Spinning around, he pushed her off of him, to find that, in the process, many of the people who had been at the car wash were surrounding him. And they all wore more clothing. Pulling out their wands, they muttered _Finite Incantatem _and around him was a majority of the inner circle of Voldemort's Death Eaters.

"Stupid, stupid Harry…" He muttered to himself, backing up slowly while turning, making sure he could keep an eye on everyone, and trying to sense movements around him. They were all standing patiently, almost waiting. Soon, he was face to face with Bellatrix again.

"So…what do you think. Will you be one of us…or be dead?"

And as his head made to make a negative motion, she grabbed his arm and dragged him away from the group. And as they walked, she snatched a wand from a man she passed. Pushing him against the wall of an alleyway down the lane, Harry's mind began racing, contemplating what he was going to do. He could probably take her by brute force, given that she might not expect it, but he didn't know where he was. Finally concluding that anywhere was better than there, Harry began to make his move when he looked at her.

Her calmness was unnerving, and as he faltered for one second, she reacted. Placing him in a body bind, she stood over him and looked down. It was a weird thing, considering she had poised herself so he had a clear view up her skirt, something that, given any other circumstance would have probably made him turn a very deep shade of red, but at the moment seemed to make him dread his existence for the next insurmountable amount of time. "Did you know, Harry, that I could see what you were planning. You are very transparent. And if you hadn't hesitated at the last moment, I would have let you escape. Goes to show you what happens when you ignore your Slytherin side."

And then she muttered two spells. And Harry felt blood draining from parts of his body and gathering…somewhere he did not want it to be. Growling, Harry shouted toward her, "What have you done to me!" Smirking at him before casting a silencing charm at him, she answered him.

"Well, the first spell was a handy charm most guys learn around their sixth year. Initially a charm to remedy impotence, but many young men use it during a…particularly interesting purpose." And Harry's eyes darkened as he tried to force his body to move, to struggle against the magical bond he was locked in. "And, my dear Harry, the second spell…that was for me. And for you, if you feel the need to think that way." Seeing his confusion, she smiled darkly as she lowered herself down, and not wanting to watch, Harry closed his eyes as he felt heat around his lower body as his zipper made the tale-tell signs of being lowered. And then all he knew was heat.

"You see…Harry…there is a loophole in the Wizarding law." She had sunk down and was sitting there, his pelvis to hers. And she took that moment to speak. "Any child conceived through rape is therefore a means of wedlock. The mother and father must then wed to make the child the best pureblood possible. And luckily for us both, we are considered, for the most part, purebloods. So this child will grow up with a mother and a father. Because, my dear Harry, it never states that the rape has to be _of_ a female. Because until recently, it was damn near impossible to rape a male in this way. And as long as I have a child, which I assure you, will come to pass, we will be together forever." And it dawned on Harry, what spell she had used. And why her stomach had glowed for a few seconds after the spell.

A fertility spell.

Harry's breath became ragged, but not from the exertion she was putting him through as she gyrated her hips, but from imagining all the things it could mean for Voldemort to have someone with his blood under his control. He was so caught up deep within his mind, and Bellatrix so involved in her lovemaking that they missed the sounds of the Death Eaters from outside. However, soon the sound of gunshots got near, and Bellatrix got momentarily distracted, enough to allow Harry to force the charm off of him through sheer willpower, and he shouted full out for someone to help him.

Bellatrix silenced him immediately, but it had gotten out. And with a savage glint in her eyes, she slammed her body down on him again and again, harder and harder, all the while talking to him, telling him things he hadn't the want to know from her lips. But even as she did this to him, Harry receded deeper and deeper into his mind.

But he was jolted back as his body finally succumbed to the pleasure, and as he started his release, a dark figure appeared at the entrance to the alleyway. Bellatrix had a look of ecstasy on her face, so she missed the figure. What Harry saw was the glint of a chrome object held in each hand of the figure.

And as his eyes began to roll into his head, the figure somehow was next to him and Bellatrix, and not grabbed her in one hand and launched her across the alley into the wall. And he looked down at Harry, still clouded in shadow, but Harry's consciousness was fading. He watched as the figure pulled out a mobile phone that looked much too advanced for the time, and dialed a number, and Harry watched as he raised the phone to his ear just as the world went dark.

Harry awoke to impossibly dark eyes. Ones he recognized. He was being carried, almost as one would carry a small sleeping child, and they were walking somewhere. The figure made it a point to show Harry that he was looking at him. And with a moderately unbalanced smirk, a look that made Harry very unnerved, the figure known as Kyoto crouched low and leapt into the air.

And with a shock, Harry looked around. The bottoms of trees were hundreds of feet beneath him, and he was in the sky. He was flying. "You can fly?" Harry was in complete shock.

"No. Can't fly. Just…jump really well." And as they landed from the jump, they jumped again. And this time, Harry saw where they were. In the distance, there stood the Hogwarts castle. And as they landed just inside the grounds, there stood another figure. This tall figure was clothed in less outstanding clothing, nothing that stood out a great deal. And his clothing looked even more muted against the dusk sky behind him. But on the floor next to him was where the real issue laid, literally. There laid Bellatrix, in all that she was, her hair haphazard and her body still limp in unconsciousness. And as the two tall figures met, Harry placed on his feet, several forms appeared through the thrown open doors of the castle in the distance and were making their way toward the small group on the grounds.

"Now, Kid, why is it that every time I happen to run into you, you are in trouble of some sort? I mean, men chasing you in the forest is weird. But getting a phone call from this bastard," here he pointed the tall figure that was watching the figures come toward them from the castle, his hand lingering in his jacket, "that you were _raped_. That was just…awkward. But when I found out it was by a female, nonetheless a fairly hot one, then the real questions entered my head." Kyoto leaned in close to Harry, his deep, empty black eyes betraying the huge smile on his face. "Are you _scared_ of women, Kid?"

Harry was in shock, and screamed, "No, I am not scared of women. I am totally…unscared…of women. In fact, I have two of them at the moment, I am in no way short for women!" And with the luck Harry was displaying at this time, it would be just the time that Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape, as well as a woman Harry didn't recognize, all came within hearing distance. The adults cast Harry a glance before looking down at the figure of Bellatrix on the ground. Dumbledore was the first to produce his wand, but found no point in stunning Bellatrix, and found that he doubted he could have in the first place. There was a long handgun leveled at his face.

"Put that damned stick away. Now." Was the simple reply from the deep voice of the tall figure standing there.

"Do you have any idea who you are talking to!" Snape shouted, before almost cutting short as he saw the narrowing of the eyes of the one known as Nox, as well as the quick hand of the tall form in the gray duster that produced another handgun, and trained it on him. He swallowed loudly, before snapping his mouth shut.

"Do I look like I give half a shit? Seriously, you sad bastard, do I look like I care?" And suddenly, still keeping an eye on Dumbledore out of the corner of his eye, the tall form walked up to Snape, too close for comfort. And he looked down on Snape with a decidedly dark smirk on his face. And then it turned into a wide smile. "You disgust me, your breed is tainted and nothing but a shadow of what you all once were. Opacus falling and creating you sick fucks was the worst insult to the rest of us." And with a weird sound, as if something was in the man's throat, he stepped back and spit all over Snape's shoe. "You vampires are disgusting. And you are the worst kind, hiding in the sunlight, deceiving everyone. You make me sick. Get from my sight before I kill you."

Snape growled and grabbed for his wand, only to be smacked across the face with the butt of the handgun the man had previously had aimed at Dumbledore. And turning the gun from Dumbledore seemed to cause chaos. And watching it to the side was Kyoto, and Harry. Kyoto had his arm over Harry's shoulder in companionable friendship, and was smiling. "Can't take the bastard anywhere." Harry was still blanching over the fact that Snape was Vampire. And with a growl, the fallen man stood up, wiping dark blood from his mouth before leaping at the man who had disrespected him so.

Before he could catch the man on the back with the extra-ordinary leap, Kyoto was gone and had leapt as well, only to tackle Snape in mid-air. It was a bone-crushing hit, and they both fell, but Kyoto had twisted to land on his feet several yards from the fallen Snape. And suddenly there was the sound of a gunshot. Everyone looked around as everything stopped. The man with the guns held one still smoking, and all of the teachers had stopped their curses mid-word, checking their body for holes.

And finally it was found. The bullet hole was centimeters away from Snape's head as the man lay on the ground. "Look, we only came here to drop off that bitch, and to let you know the kid is alright. We _are_ taking him back there, and from there you can do whatever you want. She is not our concern, and the runt isn't mine either, but that bastard," here he pointed to Kyoto, who was lightly tapping Snape's downed body with the front of his shoe, trying to wake the man up, "Seems to have taken an interest in him, and I owe him a bit. So we are here. But, consider this a warning. If your little vampire comes looking for me, he will die. I hate vampires, and I especially hate his kind. G'day." And with that he began to walk away.

Pulling back his leg, Harry saw a dark smile on Kyoto's face before he kicked the fallen man, sending him tumbling along the ground for some distance before stopping, and groaning. Walking over to Harry, Kyoto ruffled his hair before slipped the backpack back on the boy's back, and then jumping up into a tree and sitting in it with his legs bet, as if expecting to jump out of it again at any moment.

And as if everyone just noticed the boy known as Harry Potter, Dumbledore and the woman came over to him, as McGonagall was sent to go get Madam Pomfrey.

"Harry, my boy, are you alright?" Dumbledore asked, as Harry sat down hard, bringing his legs up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. Looking up, he caught sight of the woman. She was very pretty, and had light brown hair, with pale green eyes, and a look to her as if she had seen more than she should have in her years. However, she had a smile on her face.

"Who's she." He muttered tiredly, regarding her with a nod of his head. Dumbledore found it weird that Harry had sat down so close to Bellatrix's fallen form, as at this point almost to be sitting in the curve she created with her body as she laid on her side.

"She's…" Dumbledore was cut off by the woman.

"Hello, sweetie. You must be the Harry I am getting my hair pulled out about back at home by that daughter of mine. I dare say you have her a bit bent out of shape over you. But I am James Zabini, Blaise's mother." Harry cocked an eyebrow at this. She smiled and chuckled a light-hearted laugh that made Harry smile some. "Yes, it does seem to be a bit of a tradition so far to name the girls of this family male names. It is usually due to the overpowering personalities the women of the family have."

Harry smiled, and then Dumbledore spoke again. "Harry…" Harry ignored him, looking down at Bellatrix's sleeping form. "Mr. Potter…" Still ignored, as Harry started toying with Bellatrix's hair, something that had Dumbledore worried about the boy's mental health. "Harold James Potter, I must insist you…"

"Heron." Both Harry and Mrs. Zabini said at the same time. She seemed to scowl some at Albus, and Harry was just tired. The man looked questioningly at Harry, and he sighed.

"My name is not Harold. It is Heron. So please, if there is nothing else, I would very much like it if I could go somewhere besides that damned hospital wing. There is nothing physically wrong with me, and I would rather not have to be there and held like a hostage."

"I am going to need you to stay under observation. And I must know what happened during this entire ordeal. I know it is hard for you, Mr. Potter…"

"No." It was a simple statement, but it started many things at once. Kyoto leapt from the tree and landed perfectly balance without a hint of bending in his knees right next to Harry. Mrs. Zabini looked at Dumbledore and then Bellatrix, and seemed to figure something out about how Harry kept looking at her. Something had happened between the two. She just needed to figure out what.

"I will not stay at this castle. Take her if you need to, but you will not take her to Azkaban, He will just break her out. And with how she is now, if he gets his scaly hands on her right now, this could be a very bad thing. So do what you must, but she stays protected at all times."

"Harry, she is an escaped felon, she needs to go to the Dementors. She deserves it."

"No."

"Mr. Potter, you will not resist this. There is little you can do about it. It is the law."

"Is it legal to put a pregnant woman in Azkaban? And more importantly, do you want Voldemort getting a hand on a baby that is half mine?"

And that statement seemed to cause hell. Dumbledore stood and pulled out his wand, and narrowed the wand at Harry for some reason. The boy had since laid back with his arms behind his head in what would seem to be a relaxed position, but Mrs. Zabini saw through it. She was not the equivalent of a Magical Psychologist for nothing. She figured it out immediately. The way he seemed to not be happy about the entire situation.

"Mr. Potter, how could you make such a grievous mistake, doing something such as that with a Death Eater. I am sorry, but that child will have to be killed. And you will have to be detained." Harry seemed to wince as the words about the baby being "killed" visibly, and he closed his eyes and his body went straight and rigid, not moving.

"Albus, you are an idiot." Mrs. Zabini said. He turned in offense to her and suddenly the wand was gone out of his hand and in Kyoto's hand, but the man couldn't even start to think about it as Mrs. Zabini continued speaking. "She raped him, Albus. He understands this situation better than you are giving him credit for. If He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named got his hands on this child, it could be a grave day for our side."

"That is why I fear, this child must be handled as such."

"Albus, it could kill her!"

"That is a risk, I am afraid, I am willing to take."

"Well, that sucks to be you then, doesn't it, because I'm not willing to, and I am seriously doubting Harry is either. So you can shove this magical abortion shit up your ass." And with that Kyoto did some fancy hand-work, and the man's wand ended up in the man's long pure white hair, and tied up in some fancy design. It was a very un-male look, truthfully, but with the amount of power the man held, few seemed to have the heart, or the fortitude to tell him otherwise. And Harry doubted the man would have cared.

"And what does Harry have to do with this?" Dumbledore asked, seemingly looking for a way to get his wand back immediately.

"You obviously don't know the law as well as you should, Albus. Any child conceived of rape is a means of wedlock. Once it is confirmed that she is pregnant, they are married in every sense."

"And of Rodolphous?"

"Uh…is that that bastard that she was married to, that kinda looked, body wise, like a Doberman?" Kyoto asked, dancing around to some music he seemed to be the only one to hear. It looked goofy, and made Harry chuckle. Dumbledore nodded. "Well…uh…He's a bit…"

"What? Did you capture him as well?"

"…You could say that…"

"I insist you turn him over to us! We must question him on Voldemort's whereabouts."

"Uh, so you want him to pick his brain on who Voldemort's location?" Dumbledore nodded. "That might be a bit hard…"

"And why is that?"

"Because for that, he would need a brain. And even more, a head. And after a few gunshots point-blank from those damned handguns, he kinda…doesn't have a head anymore." Kyoto was still dancing all the while, so it made for a funny scene, as such morbid news was given even as he did the cabbage-patch as he turned in a circle, before doing a dance move that looked out of "Disco-Fever" era America, and overall looked very weird. Mrs. Zabini burst out laughing despite herself, and Harry was chuckling, even though Dumbledore was looking disturbed.

"So you mean to tell me, that that man killed a Death Eater, and found a way to get close enough to shoot him, point blank range, in the face, several times."

"Uh…who said anything about one? I am guessing about a dozen or so are dead wherever he put them. And if not dead, licking their wounds somewhere."

"Well, this is news I must mill over for some time. However, I am going to need to take Harry with me to the castle."

"No, you don't. He doesn't want to be there, so he won't."

"Privet Drive then…"

"Where do you think all of this crap happened?"

"So where to then?" Harry asked, tired of all the bickering.

"He can stay with me!" Mrs. Zabini said. Dumbledore looked to her in question, "Well, think about it, I can watch over him mentally, and he will be in a magically protected household, you know how protected out house is since Blaise's father…" Dumbledore nodded his approval.

"And where is this house exactly? I feel I may need to drop by every so often to check on the kid and his progress."

"Mr…Nox…was it? Why is it that you seem so adamant on Harry's whereabouts, and knowing where he is? How do we know we can trust you with that information. You refused to join our fight, so your allegiances are still questionable."

"Don't ever question my morals again, for if you do, you may not live to see tomorrow." The statement was cold and there was no dancing as he said this. It was said almost like a child scolding a younger child. "I have told you, I have lifetimes worth of knowledge, and I wouldn't suggest you go up against me. Because you are missing your little stick, taking your advantage away. And if you are even thinking about going against me in hand to hand, let me tell you a story. A story about my sister. I loved her with all of my heart. But she came after me, meaning to stand in my way to freedom, something that is one of the few things I care for. I killed her. So, stay out of my way." And the empty black eyes of the man seemed to be sucking in all of the light, and Albus felt a cold. It was like a pull on his soul. It almost felt like a Dementor…

"What…what are you!" He shouted.

"Me…I'm Harry's older brother. Got a problem with me wanting to know where the kid is?" Albus looked at Kyoto and narrowed his eyes.

"You have no bond with him. So we have no need to honor such a claimed bond. So do not attempt to claim one."

"Whatever, you sad, tired old man. I will find him if it all comes down to it. You need to learn that there are deeper bonds and connections than the ones established in this life, and than ones created through some chance happening of birth. You need to stop thinking so one-sided. It could make you realize there are more than 2 sides to this war. Idiot." And with a smile, Kyoto ruffled Harry's hair and smiled to the boy, who smiled back. Pulling Harry up to a standing position, Kyoto looked him in the eyes, Harry was sure of it, and there seemed to be some connection there, and then with one last smile, Kyoto turned, crouched low and then leapt, launching his body far off over the trees, Dumbledore's wand tumbling onto the ground where Kyoto had leapt from, two impacted crater-like indentations in the shape of the man's shoes the only sign the man had ever been there.

"What was that?" Mrs. Zabini asked, before shaking her head and looking to Harry. She smiled before holding out her hand to him. He took it, and she cast a meaningful look at Albus before another to Bellatrix, and then she and Harry walked several steps before the woman put her wand away and reached into her pocket and pulled out a paperback novel of some kind. She spoke a word Harry didn't catch, and then there was the familiar pulling behind his navel.

Her long hair billowed behind her, having come out of the styling she had placed it in some time before. She had opted for more tighter-fitting jeans and a shirt instead of her normal black dress, and she had long since left the stuffed creatures behind. She hadn't the time to play, or for old tricks. There was no time for that. It was all about revenge. She had located a stronghold on her old island once she had returned from there. She held two short-handled scythes, one in each hand, and there was a bull-whip rolled up attached to her hip. She had blood on the blades already, and it had only been about half and hour since she had arrived at the front gates.

And as she neared the front gates, she looked to see something she hadn't been expecting. There was a fight of bright lights going on between red-and-gold-clad figures and the black-clad ones she had fought so far. Suddenly someone spotted her and sent a red curse at her. Doing a one-handed cartwheel out of the way, she landed in a crouch before bringing the scythes in front of her and rotating them in a circle, before pushing the scythes forward, and shouting out, "Thundaga!" And lightning seemed to blast from the sky and strike the figure that had attacked her, and he fell to the ground, smoke rising off of him.

Another 3 figures approached, and she clasped the scythes together in an odd way, and they seemed to form a circle with the blades, the handles meeting in a line through the circle. She was holding the handle in her hand, and she threw it. It flew through the air and cut the enemy coming at her through the neck and then came back, detaching the leg of another oncoming enemy. She caught the handle and unclasped the scythes before charging the walls. As she did, she jumped and jammed the scythes blade-first into the sides of the wall on either side of one of the thin windows the castle held on the lower levels. Turning her body, she slipped in as she pulled the scythes through with her. In a low crouch, she slipped into a shadow and watched for a moment, and no one passed by. And running up through the castle, she cut down anyone she met in black, and slipped unseen by the red and gold figures. Finally entering the throne room, there sat one of the "Generals" of the man she was after. He was in no way a General, if anything, just a higher rank than the others out there dying, but not by much. She didn't even ask his name as he walked toward her with his wand drawn.

"Stupid stick." And she leveled her violet eyes at him before taking the scythes and tossing them down, the blades imbedding in the ground so there was one on either side of her, and then with some hand motions she shouted, "Ultima!" and the man seemed to be enshrouded in darkness, and then falling to the floor, the man was dead, immediately. His body looked ripped apart, and his wand had literally exploded in his hand, the man's entire arm looking more mangled than the rest, and burnt and giving off a putrid smell.

Stooping to grasp the scythes from the earth below her, she inadvertently ducked a red spell coming over her head. She turned, ready to throw one of the scythes to see one of the red and gold figures. Growling low in her throat, she crossed her arms in an "X" shape and muttered "Hastaga" and then with a shaking of the ground beneath her, she rushed forward and past the red and gold figure, and out of the building, leaping through the thin window in a cartwheel-like fashion, and then turning and hooking the scythes into the wall and allowing them to cut long thin lines in the wall as she went down. Then, leaping from the wall, she did a back flip from the wall and did a backwards somersault and then turned and ran from the stronghold, the spell wearing off just as she got in the clear.

"One down, hundreds to go. I will find him. And I will kill him."

Harry found himself in a nice, modest entrance hall of what looked to be developing into a modest sized manor. The chandelier and the general décor of the house was different that that he expected from the house of a Slytherin. The walls were cream-colored, and the white light from the crystal chandelier over his head cast an ethereal glow around him and off of the hair of the woman next to him. She still held on to his hand, and when he glanced over to her, she smiled lightly before releasing his hand to ruffle his hair, and then pointing toward the staircase directly in front of him. "Up the stairs, down the hall all the way. We'll work on you after."

And he headed toward the stairs, still not fully aware of what she meant. But as he walked up and heard the light thumping of music through the slightly closed door, and more _felt_ the bass through his feet, he figured out what she was talking about.

Blaise.

Going to the door, which was just slightly open, he peered it while rapping on it with his knuckles. Apparently it wasn't loud enough to distract her from her current activities. She was jumping around in what appeared to be a pair of boy's boxers and a simple cotton tank-top, with some cotton socks pulled up to just below her knees, the lime green stripes on the socks across her calves a violent shade. And she held a hair brush in hand as a microphone, and she was jumping around, flinging her head to and fro as she sang along with the song, her eyes shut tightly, as she got into the song.

Harry chuckled some, before knowing it was time to make his presence known, as the girl flung the brush across the room and reached up to the bottom of the tank top and grasped it, pulling it up as she jumped around. Pushing the door open, he cleared his throat some, before calling her name. "Uh…Blaise?"

Her shirt was up and over her head, with her arms above her head clasping the bottom of the shirt in her hands. Her face was hidden by the shirt, and her bra-clad chest and bare stomach was on clear display to him. She stopped moving altogether, as did he, and all that was left was the fading beat of the song that had been playing in the background. And then she screeched and ran around, trying to pull her shirt back down and run in a panic at the same time. This lead to her crashing into Harry, and still being unable to pull the shirt down. And as they tumbled to the ground and she seemed even more caught up in the shirt, she finally sighed and just yanked it over her head and then sprawled out, the shirt laying forgotten.

And then, sitting up as if remembering him being there, she looked at him with bug eyes. "Harry! What are you doing here?" She grasped for the shirt and held it to the front of her, as if self-conscious all of a sudden.

Harry smiled at her before the smile turned grim. "Let's say some things happened that made it unsafe for me to be at home. And being that I am now emotionally, mentally and physically fucked, your mother figured I would be a good pet project. So, here I am."

Making to stand up, he shook off the backpack. He stood effortlessly before bending down to pick it up. He placed it down on her bed and then sat down on it as well. And then a decidedly Slytherin smirk slid on his face. "And what where you doing, Blaisey?"

Blaise blushed before tossing the shirt aside and then standing and putting her hands on her hips before him, smiling. "Nothing much. And don't give me that bullshit. You know you couldn't stand being away from me, so you decided to just come here." Harry rolled his eyes, as she walked toward him, swaying her hips. There was something sexy about seeing her in little more than what she slept in, while sitting on the bed she slept on, in her room, and her looking so disheveled.

_Bet that's what she would look like if I woke up next to her in the morning…wait, bad thoughts, bad, Slytherin thoughts, Potter._

Shaking his head to clear the thoughts, he missed Blaise stop her path right in front of him, her legs apart, her hands on her hips, her hair out of place, and her eyes set on his. And when he opened his eyes, he was eye-level with, what to him seemed to be her impossibly long legs. And as his eyes trailed up them, they set on her face. And there was a coy smirk on her face. "And to think, you traveled all this way for little ol' me. It's cute in a puppy-dog sort of way. So come get your treat." And with that she pushed on his shoulders and followed him down to the bed. And pressing her forehead to his, she locked eyes with him.

And as she looked at him, her eyes grew large. There was something deep within them, something different about his person that she caught a hold of. And she kept staring into his eyes, and to him, it stopped seeming like she was looking at him, but looking into him, and he felt incredibly exposed, as if he had walked into her room completely naked. She had stripped past all of the blocks and defenses he had around himself so easily. And it was creeping him out.

Placing his hands on her waist as to raise her off of him, He lifted her and placed her away from him, glad for the break of eye contact. He made to sit up, before it just felt too hard to do, and he just fell back, closing his eyes. He sighed loudly, and got a moment of time to try and clear his head before her weight was on him again, straddling his waist. He opened his eyes to see hers peering closely at him, something akin to confusion and compassion in hers.

"Wow Potter, what ever fucked you up like this…I am so sorry." And she reached down and pulled him up by his shoulders, so he was sitting up, and she wrapped her legs around his back, so she was effectively sitting in his lap holding him with her legs and her arms around his neck. Her lack of shirt was pressing his face between her breasts, and with his head turned to the side, even the awkwardness of that situation was overcome by the pure sweetness of the sound of her heartbeat.

And he let it all out. It wasn't so much tears in the normal sense of the word, but it was more, expelling all of the pain and the anger and everything from his body, through the form of fiery-hot liquid from his eyes. He didn't make any vocal sounds of crying, no hiccupping or anything, but the tears fell regardless. And her hands ran through his hair in comfort.

After what seemed like forever, the tears stopped. His arms had found their way around her as well, holding her to him tightly. And as the tears stopped, Blaise seemed to know, and pulled back just enough to catch his eyes. And looking down at him, she smiled at him brightly, purely, genuinely. And he smiled back with everything he had left. And then she ran her hand through his hair, brushing it from his face before she did something neither of them expected.

She leaned down slowly and pressed her lips to his. It wasn't insistent or anything, just incredibly sweet in all aspects of it. And that seems to awaken something in Harry, bring him back to life.

At least his Slytherin side.

And sliding his hands up from her lower back slowly, going up and inch to drag his fingers down again that inch, his nails dragging as well, he returned the kiss. And then, in one motion, he ran his hands straight up her back, and then turned his body, and ended up with her on her back, and her legs still wrapped around him.

What Harry knew little about, was the inner workings of the object known as a brassiere. The clasps and the infuriating amounts of time some men spent trying to work them to get them unhooked seamlessly. Had he known, he would have been able to appreciate his accidental accomplishment for what it was.

Because with that one motion, somehow, Harry Potter had found a way to disarm that diabolical device known as a bra with that fast a motion. And laying on top of her, finding solace, comfort, and hope within her being, finding a reason between her lips, he had no idea that the red colored bra was currently barely on. And if he did, he wouldn't have done what he did next.

Pulling her toward him, he shifted to the point where, once again, she was in his lap. And as he did so, hooking his hands beneath her arms, the straps slid down ever-so-inconspicuously, and as she was settled into his lap, her eyes still closed and her face oh-so-serene, the bra simply…slid down.

Feeling something bump his chest ever so lightly, Harry leaned back and opened his eyes just some. And immediately slammed them shut again, as his angle allowed him a fairly uncorrupted view of Blaise's fairly bare chest. As he pulled back, Blaise seemed pulled back to the world. And looking down, she blushed some and then smiled in her embarrassment and then clasped the bra quickly. Harry had turned and was turning red very quickly. "I am _so_ sorry, Blaise."

She took his chin and turned his face to her. And with a smile, she winked. "I'm not." And then pulling him by his chin back to her, she kissed him again. This time, she pushed him back so she was on him again. With a gyrate of her hips that made all life in Harry almost leave him, she got up and walked toward the sound system, which had since died for some reason. Turning the system, which looked oddly muggle, a low thumping beat came on.

And looking to him, she came back over and jumped back on him, straddling his lap again. Every attempt he made to sit up was met with her pushing him down again. And bringing her hands up to her hair, pushing it up above her face, she started a slow grinding dance. And as it sped up, she seemed to go with it, before suddenly releasing her hair and grabbing the front of his shirt and yanking him violently up to her, and slamming her lips to his, this time a lot more insistent about what she wanted. And they explored each other's mouths for the remainder of the song. And their hands roamed, Blaise's finding their way up the front of his shirt, while Harry's alternate from her hair to her lower back.

As Blaise's hands raised higher, from his stomach toward his chest, he pulled back from her and pulled her to a standing position. He kissed her there, while the motion seemed to draw her hands from up his shirt. He had felt a stinging feeling in his heart the closer her hands had gotten to it, which bothered him. It hadn't hurt, it had just felt…awkward.

Blaise pulled back from him as the song went off and she went over and turned the system off. She then turned to him and looked at him. She shook her head before walking over and ruffling his hair some before grabbing his hand and walked with him out of the door. Harry assumed she was throwing him out, until they both walked down the stairs, her hand still in his, and into a sitting room. There sat Blaise's mother, reading a book of some kind while making notes on a parchment next to her.

Pushing Harry onto the loveseat that was nearest where Blaise's mother was working on the couch, before she, surprisingly, took a seat on his lap, her legs going over the arm of the couch, her way of sitting making it so that Harry could still see Mrs. Zabini. The woman was the first to speak, still not looking up too much from her writing.

"Well, I see you found her. Good. Now at least I won't have to hear her talking all about her 'Birdy-Boy' and how much she misses him." Blaise rolled her eyes and berated her mother, while Harry caught eyes with her and mouthed "Birdy-Boy" is confusion, shock and mild horror at the same time. "Yeah, see, she has been like, talking all about you. Good thing you got here instead of Hogwarts. At least this way, I can get this whole crush thing out of her system. And if not, then we can make the betrothal arrangements before you go back if it looks like it is going to work out."

Harry's jaw was falling more and more as this whole talk was continuing. Just a bit before, he had found out he was going to be married to Bellatrix Lestrange…or Black know, and now Blaise's mother was talking about marriage.

But looking to Blaise, the girl didn't look at all shocked by this. Instead, she seemed to be trying to adjust her bra, something that Harry averted his eyes from immediately. Blaise scoffed at this, and smiled deviously. "Here Harry, these are a few documents I have found about your family name. They have me going through your records for medicinal purposes, as well as for my own betrothal records." Harry blushed but reached out to take the papers. As he brought his hand back, he seemed to brush Blaise's breast. He blushed furiously and then moved both his hands so that they were as far out of the way as he could get them from anything provocative on her body.

Blaise groaned before taking his hand. She held it for a moment before looking to him, as he seemed to be about to stutter an apology. She rolled her eyes before taking the hand she held, and placing it, palm first, on her breast. She held it there, as Harry sat there, in shock. Eventually, he calmed his shock, and moments later, she released his hand. She looked to his confused face. "Look, Harry. If all goes as it seems by the papers and what my mother is going through, you are going to be here for a while. Let's face it, I like you, I like you a lot, and I don't even know why. But regardless, you are going to be here, and around me. Contact is going to happen, and more than likely I will initiate it early on. So get used to it. Its just me, little ol' Blaisey. So calm down."

Harry looked at her during her speech, his hand still on her breast. He nodded, before grinning darkly and giving the breast a squeeze before putting his hand down and reaching for the papers again.

"You're right Gaby, he is a bit too Slytherin to have been put in Gryffindor rightly. Its kinda…cute." And Harry stared with horror at Blaise's mother, whom he had forgot completely was in the room. And he was going to freak out before she smiled at him. Blaise got up to go into the next room, and Harry looked to Mrs. Zabini, expecting for her to blow up on him. She didn't.

"Don't worry about it, Harry. Besides, I can't exactly freak out when you do things like that. Its better I know now to knock when I go into Blaise's room for the rest of the summer, and more importantly, I know that, for whatever reason, you have been able to avoid the pit of depression, be it by means of my daughter or something else. But whatever it is, it needs to continue."

And then she winked at him. "Besides, I was young once, too."

Harry expected his room to be somewhere down on the other side of the house, especially due to his and Blaise's…current state of relations. But, apparently Mrs. Zabini had no intention of separating them, and in fact, told Harry that he could sleep in the girl's room if he wanted to. She trusted him to not take anything too far or take advantage of her daughter, but also told him she knew anything that happened would be Blaise's idea or alright with her, because she knew her daughter could defend herself.

However, Harry's rightful room in the house was right next to Blaise's. It was a nice room, with light colored interior and a nice, large sleigh bed with the softest comforter he had felt since he left Hogwarts. He had gone in and set the backpack down in there, watching as the bed seemed to sink under the weight of the backpack, showing the softness of the mattress. He opened the pack, and pulled out one of his old tomes he had taken from the school. He found the backpack could hold more than it seemed possible that it should, but figuring it was charmed, he never looked much into it.

He placed the book down on the bed before feeling slender arms wrap around his waist from behind. He turned in the embrace and looked at Blaise. She leaned up and kissed him lightly, and he smiled. "Ok, I'm not objecting, but what is with all the affection? It's a good thing, and I love it, really Blaise, I do, but it seems like every time you are around me, you are touching me."

"Harry, my mother told me an abridged version of what happened to you." Harry's eyes darkened some. "And I am trying to show you that people care about you. That touch is good. That women aren't all bad and evil bitches like her. And above all, I guess I am trying to show you that I want you for you, and nothing else." Harry sighed and leaned down to peck her lips.

Something about this whole relationship seemed so…"hyper-speed" to him, as a show Dudley had been watching said once. It was all happening so fast, feelings had established there so fast that it left him still whirling from the initial kiss, nonetheless all of them since. "Besides, I just think you are kinda cute, ya know?" And with another kiss, Blaise jumped up on Harry's bed, and seemed to sink right into it. And she grabbed the book and looked at it.

"What's this?" She asked him, barely being able to hold the book up.

"Some 'Light reading' as they say."

"You have been around Granger _too_ damned much." And then the humor was gone. "Uh…Harry, speaking of that…"

Harry chuckled before running a finger down her jaw line. "There is nothing between Hermione and I. Seriously. I mean, I don't know, there probably could have been if events hadn't transpired as they had, but, we will never know, will we?" And as he stopped, he opened the window before he started to pull off his shirt. It had gotten a bit hot in the process of all of the kissing and the heat of the house. As he did, she caught him off guard.

"Not that. I mean…what if they don't want to accept you…and me?" Harry stopped in the middle of taking off the shirt before continuing and taking the shirt off, dropping it to the floor before looking to the girl's downcast face. "I mean, I shouldn't care about the opinions of a know-it-all muggle-born with the Albert Einstein haircut, and a redheaded hothead, excuse the pun, with a bottomless pit for a stomach and a black hole for a brain, but…they are your friends…and you matter so much to me."

Harry looked at her before smiling and leaning down to her. "Don't call my friends names." She stuck her tongue out at him. "Besides, if they can't handle that, and value my friendship so little that they will fight me over me being with someone that makes me happy, then screw them. And if they make an issue over you and I when I am to be married to fucking Bellatrix Lestrange, then I will be questioning their sanity and sending them to your mother immediately."

Blaise smiled at him, before gasping and then smirking darkly at him. "So, what are we are going to do all summer while we are in this huge house…all alone…?" Harry raised an eyebrow. "My mother has work, and that leaves you and me unless my aunt drops by, which I am doubting."

"What about your job?"

"We can't exactly leave you here unattended, we don't trust you yet, you are, after all, like, a trouble magnet and shit. Besides, I fully plan on quitting as soon as I feel the need to walk to the phone. But I can't seem to go, since I can't pull myself away from you long enough to make the call." Harry nodded as he stretched out his back and arms. "That was a major compliment, you ass. Act like it."

"Yes Mistress." Harry muttered lamely, before stretching his legs some. And then he laughed to himself. "Yes, my freckled goddess." And then he burst out laughing at her grumpy face. He smiled and leaned over and kissed her lightly before going back to his stretching.

"Nice one, Kid. I leave you alone for a few hours and this. Hey, you proved to me you aren't scared of women. And she's a cute one too." They both looked over to see Kyoto crouching on the windowsill. Harry knew he was at least 2, if not 3 stories up, but he didn't doubt Kyoto's ability. The man stepped into the room before smiling brightly at Harry, and then at Blaise. "Hello. I'm…well, since you seem to be involved with Baby Bro here, I guess you can call me Kyoto. Kyoto Nox." Blaise inclined her head in acknowledgement, as the white haired man stretched his back in an exaggerated gesture that left him almost bent at the waist and parallel to the ground from there. Standing, he smiled before seemed to produce a box from nowhere at all. He handed it to Harry, who looked at him in confusion.

"A present, from me to you. So you can grow up to be just like me." Harry groaned.

"And why would I want to do that?" Harry asked.

"And why would he want to do that?" Blaise asked at the same time.

Kyoto looked stunned by the question, as if he was in shock it had been asked. "Because I am the coolest mutha this side of Hell, that's why!"

Harry looked at Blaise, and then back to Kyoto. "That made no sense and you know it."

"So what." Was the answer before the man motioned for Harry to open the box. Harry did so, and was shocked to see a pair of amazing boots. They were boots and on the top of the boot, on the toe, was a casing of shimmering metal. The boots were jet black, and had an appearance of not being made out of normal boot material, but something softer, and more like fur almost in some place, while other places looked like black metal. There were no laces, but instead what looked like miniature belts connecting one side to the other. The heel was heavy, and overall they looked like kick-ass shoes.

Harry looked to see Kyoto wearing similar boots, and Harry smiled before trying them on. The second he put them on, he was absorbed by how comfortable they were, while at the same time being weighted just like the backpack. They were amazingly comfortable and made him feel like he never wanted to take them off. And they fit perfectly.

Smiling, Harry thanked the man. "Not a problem, kid. Just making sure when I take off next time, you can keep up and I don't have to save you any more. Besides, that's what friends are for." And with that and a salute, he walked over to the window before turning and going to the backpack. He tossed it one-handed to Harry, who caught it deftly and threw it back without bending his knees or any other physical signs of it impacting him. "Good." And the man seemed to make an adjustment before tossing it back, and Harry stumbled back some. It must have weighed 50 pounds then, if not more.

And with one last grin, Kyoto was gone.

"What the hell was that all about?" Blaise asked.

"That, Blaisey, was an old friend deciding to be as he normally is, a helpful, insane bastard."

"Is he really your brother…?"

"No, I'm an only child. He seems to have adopted me, though. Which isn't so bad considering how powerful he is, I love the idea of him watching my back." And with a smile, Harry tackled her back on the bed and kissed her again.


	6. Chapter 5

**FFOmega**

Part I: Bitter-Sweet Dreams

Chapter 5

-----

The man in the gray duster stood at a crossroads. His hands held handguns, and on his back, there was a white and black sawed-off shotgun. His hair blew in the wind, flapping around his ears in all its pale brown and gray glory. It was not gray from age, but from some unknown reasons altogether. Down one road was a bright path, with figures down the way seeming to float in the very air. And down the other path there was darkness. And red silhouetted figures seemed to labor to stand, as if the very world was trying to crush them.

And cocking each guns, he fired a single shot down each path. And each shot struck a figure in the distance. And like a stampede, they all charged down the paths toward him, the red figures that seemed to be being dragged down, and the floating figures that seemed yanked toward the skies, both fighting to stay simply standing on the ground.

And with a sick grin and a shimmering of the pale sunglasses he wore, He leapt into the air. And the very time around him seemed to slow, as he fired gunshots down each path, hitting the charging enemies. Then, with a twirl of his body and a flutter of the duster, he landed facing away from the charging paths. With a backwards somersault, arms still out, he fired some more, taking out the legs of some of the charging enemies. And righting himself in one fluid motion from the roll, he did a side flip in the air and landed directly in front of the bright path, and fired with both guns down the path, the cruel grin still on his face as blood and body parts and white and gray feathers fluttered through the air, stained crimson.

As the bright path was finally cut down, the darker path's creatures had near reached the crossroads, and the fastest of them had made it around the bend toward him. Leaping in the air, he spun around and laid a bone-shattering back spin kick to the first dark creature. Its jaw shattered, and continuing the momentum, the gray figure spun and leg-swept the dark figure. However, before the figure could fall, he was met with an uppercut to where his jaw was. Being that it was shattered, the full hit was met to its upper jaw area, and the resulting impact crushed his brain.

Turning and leveling the guns, his gray duster fluttering in the seemingly non-existent wind, rounds were fired faster and faster into the faces of the coming figures. The guns seemed incapable of running out of ammunition, and they fired on and on, removing body parts and exposing innards to air relentlessly. And as it seemed like they were all finally gone, a large lumbering form came down the dark path, its body giving off a deep silver glow instead of the normal red one. Firing still, the bullets seemed to do little to deter the creature, even when horns and digits, even the left arm was removed, it still moved forward. And as it made it to the splattering of light, and it's deformed, bullet-ridden face came into view, orange eyes with putrid, puke green irises and shining silver pupils, and rows upon rows of jagged, rotten teeth, some green in color, it huffed a puff of steam in anger and seemed to find the strength the charge forward now that it could see its assailant.

Slipping the handguns into the holsters wordlessly, he flipped the sawed-off from over his shoulder and leveled it. The entire handle area was pure golden, while one barrel was pure white, while the other was pure, deep black. The sawed off seemed to warp the world before the barrels for a moment, before a white orb fired from the black barrel and a black orb from the white one.

They twisted in the air as they fired, tearing up the earth beneath them as they flew through the air, leaving a helix-like shape on the earth before they seemed to fly way out and then come straight together, hitting at the same time as they hit the target. And with a bending of the very world around the creature, the world warping and then a solid rip in the fabric of time, light sucking in and blowing out from the rip, the creature seemed to twist and bend until it simply "popped" and seemed to explode only to implode moments later, and then the contents were sucked into the tear.

And then there was nothing.

And reaching into the duster, and pulling out two bulbous cylinders that looks almost like cloves of garlic, he yanked out the pins sticking from the top and launched them down the paths before turning and walked away, his duster blowing in the wind it seemed only he was affected by, and his hair brushing around him as he slid the sawed-off back into its back holster and then jamming his hands into his pockets.

Seconds later, two simultaneous explosions rocked the separate paths, causing the earth to tumble around and the broken and shattered body parts from the gunshots as well as the iron and golden gates of the two different paths the collapse in on themselves.

And walked away from the scene, gray duster blowing behind him, the figure narrowed his lips and began whistling, "Oh What a Beautiful Morning." As he walked away, blood and gore still raining down on the battle scene many minutes and even hours later.

-----

Elsewhere, a certain white haired man was wandering down the street, humming to himself while he kicked a can down the road. Suddenly, as he kicked the can a bit harder to clear the steep curb before him, the can caught air and nailed a man in the face. The man turns angrily, the red mark on his forehead still glowing in the fading daylight. He is surrounded by a group of men dressed as bikers and punks, with chains and spiked gloves amongst them. A normal person would have avoided them at all costs, but Kyoto just kept walking, retrieving his can and walking right through the group, oblivious, still humming and kicking.

"Hey, buddy. What the fuck is your problem?" The man who was hit with the can, obviously the leader by his dress, shouted.

Kyoto stopped humming. And that would spell a very bad sign for all in the general vicinity of the city street he had been walking down. Turning, his white hair fluttering around his shoulders and back like a cape of some sort, he looked at them from behind his dark sunglasses. "Uh…what?"

"I said," and the man walked forward, flanked by his group like a bunch of dogs following the alpha male blindly. Blindly to their deaths. The lead man pushed Kyoto, surprised that the man didn't even move as the push came, just stood like a strong tree in the breeze. Unnerved but not done, he continued talking, "I said, what. The. Hell. Is. Your. Problem?" He punctuated each of these words by a push to the chest. Kyoto continues standing and unmoving, not even seeming to pay attention to the people around him.

"Well…until just a bit ago, my problem was, I had to pee. So I was looking for a bathroom. Then, I lost my place in my song because you all talked to me. Now, however, my biggest problem…" And withdrawing his hands from his pockets and cracking his knuckles, he finished, "Is you."

"Look punk," he pushed Kyoto again. However, his tirade was cut off by Kyoto's cold as steel voice, which had, moments before, been jolly and light-hearted.

"Touch me again."

The man looked taken aback by the athletic albeit fairly thin man's barely veiled threat. There were easily 20 men in his crew, each capable of holding his own against one or sometimes 3 men on his own, and this thin, tall man with the long, stark white hair and the black sunglasses on was threatening him.

"What. You. Gonna. Do. About. It." He punctuated each of these with a push of his finger to the center of Kyoto's chest. After stepping back to watch the man, the leader of the group smirked as the figure did nothing.

Reaching up calmly, almost agonizingly slowly, Kyoto pulled off his sunglasses, his eyes closed serenely. He raised his head to face the group before him, before, dramatically, he opened his eyes.

"Shit, Harv, look at his eyes!" a man in the back shouted to the leader in reference to the pit-like black holes of light that were the man before them's eyes.

"Just contacts, the freak is just wearing contacts." Harv said, even as he tried to reassure himself of this fact. He didn't know any contacts that did that. That could suck in light. and make his very soul feel cold.

"Hey, I warned you. And like a dumbass, you didn't listen. So, enjoy the view, guys, because I guarantee, these are the last eyes any of you will ever see." And then bending slightly at the knees, he leapt high into the air, disappearing from all of their lines of vision.

Looking up into the street lamp that was directly above them, Harv watched as the white haired figure grasped the pole of the street lamp and twirled around it before coming down legs-first. Fast. Too fast. Too fast to move. And he landed right on the head of the man next to Harv. And shattered every bone in the man's body.

Beneath the steel-toed boots, the man he had landed on, Lenny, was reduced to a bloody mush on the ground. Turning and kicking out, another man felt his breastbone collapse with the one kick, and cave into his lungs. He sank to the floor before Kyoto leapt again, disappearing from sight once more. Again with the street lamp, only this time he landed in a low crouch on top of the light. And then kicking the glowing bulb, the light died. And in the waning light, their eyes seemed to try and adjust, but couldn't.

Not as well as his could.

It wasn't human. It couldn't' have been, Harv reasoned as the figure did a gainer, a forward moving back flip, off of the street lamp to land as if he had leapt only a few inches from the ground, before kicking out to the face of one man, then hooking his foot behind the man's neck and swinging his leg, propelling the man's body through the group like a bullet, effectively head-butting several of his other comrades into unconsciousness as his neck cracked under the pressure and his collarbone turned to dust.

Doing a back flip, using the shoulders of another man behind him as a springboard, he did a drop-kick while still holding the man's shoulders and back straight, cracking his vertebrate in half. Then, rolling with the kick, he threw the man over his shoulder and then jumping off of him like a trampoline to leap and catch himself sitting on one man's shoulders. Pulling back and slamming his fists into the man's head repeatedly, he then flexed his fingers, revealing shining black claw-like fingernails, and then slammed his hand into the man's head, puncturing 5 holes into the man's brain.

"Hey, I bet I know what you're thinking!" he said as he pulled a piece of the man's brain out from his head. He then tossed it to another man before rolling off the dead man's shoulders and then side-kicking the man he had thrown the gore at, sending him into the glass window behind him, and furthermore, through it. And thus was a display that would damn them all.

It was a baseball display in a sports supply window. And with a dark smile, he jumped in the display. The baseballs on the display spilled on the floor, and with some footwork, he flipped one into the air to spin and kicked it at the men, speeds of well over 90p MPHs heading for them with wicked intent. And when he ran out of baseballs, thus came the big finish. His clawed hand wrapped around the handle of a smooth, cold aluminum baseball bat. And walking out of the display to the men, he smiled.

"Batter up?" And he slapped the bat to his feet before getting into batting stance. A man ran up, swinging a chain and shouting in a war cry. However, as he made to attack, expecting a hit from the bat, he didn't expect what he got.

A kick to the balls.

And from there, he fell to his knees just to get a baseball at hit to the side of the head. He flew like a tetherball, head-first, through the crowd and went head first into the steel street lamp post. Slamming the bat down on one man's ankle, shattering the joint on contact, the man fell on contact only to get an axe-like hit to the top of his head. His eardrums blew out and his eyes bugged before filling with blood and turning red as he sank to the floor.

And he went through them like a demon possessed.

One man fell to the crack of a kick to the back of his neck, only to go forehead first into the side of the curb, and then have the back of his neck stomped on again, dislodging his upper head from the line of his vertebrate. Then, with another stomp for good measure, Kyoto leapt from the curb into the air and turned in the air, his heel catching the temples of several standing figures as he spun in a circle before he dropped down to leg sweep as well. However, as he spun and knocked them all over, her put his hands down and started something akin to a break-dance. Soon it dissolved into pure dancing as all enemies were all downed. Somehow turning to spin on his hands and stopping, posing in a one-handed handstand, he looked to the last man standing.

It was Harv.

He had been unable to run, as his reputation was on the line should any of his men stop the man, and him missing. So he stood there until the last man was felled. And he was sure his friend was gone as the thin form contorted in the air and landed, crushing the bones in his thighs before he was grabbed by the back of the shirt and forced to put his weight on his legs, the figure behind him treating him much like a puppet.

And as the man cried out, Kyoto cracked both of his elbows backward and then simply shoved him forward, and as his legs collapsed under him, he fell and crushed his nose on the pavement. His nose bled profusely, and unable to move himself, he drowned in his own blood.

Turning to Harv, Kyoto grinned darkly as he walked toward him. Harv was literally shaking, looking to his fallen comrades, few left alive, and the few left wouldn't be for long. He was scared. And the demon coming at him, cracking his finger joints before cleaning the blood from under his claw-like nails with the other hand's nails, narrowed it black eyes on him.

"De…De…Demon!" Harv shouted, finally locking eyes with the figure.

"Still think they are contacts? I assure you, they are mine. And like I said, these would be the last eyes you will ever see. But, someone needs to learn from this whole debacle. So, it will be you, since all the others seem…incapacitated." Here he looked around the area at all of the blood and the broken bodies.

"So, get used to your last sight." And with that and a narrowing of his empty eyes, Harv looked to the man before him. And then, quick as lightning, the claws launched forward, and the man's eyes were popped out. And with a howling scream he went unconscious from pain, as Kyoto wiped his fingers off on the man's shirt and then replaced his sunglasses before he jammed his hands in his pockets, kicked a man's fallen body up to find the can he had been kicking, and he proceeded kicking it down the road, humming to himself all the while, even as the sirens sounded in the distance, heading toward the scene.

"So, Kyoto, you have just killed 20 men by yourself, and will have the police after you, what are you gonna do?" he intoned to himself in a very reporter-like voice. Then, in a bright, bubbly voice, he replied to his own question, "I'm going to motherfucking Disney Land!"

And he did.

-----

Harry awoke the next morning still being wrapped in Blaise's body. Both were fully clothed, while the bed and the big fluffy white comforter had since swallowed them both, creating a sort of nest away from the world for them, a little alcove. His arms held her to him as he laid deep in the bed, while she was nestled on top of him. His arms had slipped down to rest on the cleft of her behind, while hers were around his neck, her hair splayed in his line of vision. He opened his eyes to find her deep mahogany eyes staring right back at him. Her freckles were on full display so close, and Harry was tempted to try and count them, but the way she was licking her lips was distracting all coherent thought.

"And what are you awake so early for?"

"I could ask you the same thing…"

"But I asked first, so that means I win, oh Lady, Her Majesty of Snakes."

"Yes, but as is the Gryffindor Courage of My Lord Gryffindor states, he should have the balls to go first." The beginning of the statement was said in the prissy voice Harry had began, but the end just went back to Blaise speaking as usual.

"…Uh…Blaise…babe…what the hell?"

"Get over it. I am awake and have been for the last hour or so for no real reason. I woke up, and I decided to just lay here. Besides, I kind of liked the hand positioning and didn't want to disturb you since you have made it this far."

Harry became self-conscious of his hands on her behind, before thinking that that was what she wanted, and, mustering that Gryffindor courage, he squeezed her behind for a moment before shifting her, pulling her closer to him.

"Oh! My little bird is growing wings." And with that she began kissing him along the neck, and then catching her lips with his, he slipped one hand up her lower back and then around and along her front. His hand slipped just along the outside of her breast and up to cup her jaw ever so softly. And then he stopped. And he tried to push her away.

And smirking, she began to grind her lower body along him, keeping eye contact with him the whole time. "It's perfectly natural for guys in the morning from what I understand. And truth be told, if it hadn't happened soon, I would have been offended. I have been waiting for this since yesterday. Nice to know I have the power." And then she kissed him before moving up so that she was in a more…comfortable position for Harry, and then the continued kissing for a while, before she pushed him back and slid her hand through his hair, starting in the front and ending in the back. And then her eyes locked with him.

"Tell me."

"Tell you what?" He asked, running his hand along her mostly bare thigh.

"Everything. Everything about you, and the truth. Not just the story, the feelings. I want to know."

"What do you want to know?" He asked, his hand slowly falling limp and away from her thigh, the other falling to rest, equally dead, at his side. His head seemed to lower as he averted his eyes from hers.

Reaching down, she grasped both of his hands in one of hers before taking the other hand and lifted his face up so they were looking at each other again. And when he was looking at her, she put her other hand on top of their pile of hands, her hands holding his. "I want to know everything. Everything about you. I want to know _you_ and not who everyone thinks you are. I want to be the girlfriend that knows the man she cares about, that can be a part of his life. Not some stupid airhead who wanders around after her boyfriend like a post puppy. I refuse to be like Parkinson." She spit the name like a curse.

And with a sigh, he began for the second time in the recent time period, going over everything he had done, going over his life. Only this time he put in what he felt, how it felt to him to be there. Blaise cried many a time and looked furious at others. She hit him when he went over how he head dueled the newly resurrected Dark Lord, and then cried more when he went over Sirius' death, and the subsequent issues with Bellatrix that resulted.

Leaning over as he finished, she pressed her lips to his and then smiled weakly at him. And then he smiled at her as well before returning his hands to caressing her thighs, his hands testing the waters beneath the line where the fabric of the cotton flannel-patterned boxers ended, and sliding just a bit past. And as he sat up, feeling bolder with this new lack of rejection, he sat up and jerked her to him, before folding her back in the nest that they had made in the center of the fluffy bed, and pulling the tank over her head as he yanked at the shirt he wore, near tearing it off before launching it away, to land where it would.

Only moments later would he realize where it landed. And how sorry he was for ever taking it off. There was a clearing of a throat before them, and both looked up, Blaise looking up from her back while Harry looked up to see a sight he never wanted to see. His Head of House stood there, holding his shirt incredulously, while peering at them both.

"Mr. Potter, I would kindly ask that you climb off of my niece this instant."

Harry was frozen in shock, unable to move at all, even as his arms cried out in protest from the extended weight on them. And then he felt Blaise's arms go around his waist and pull him down on her as she rolled to the side, slipping on top of him again. "Oh shove it Aunt Minnie. Mom's in the study." And with that she reached down and grabbed one of Harry's trainers from the floor and launched it at the door by the woman's head before going back to Harry, pulling the still stunned boy back to the confines of her lips. And when he looked up again, the woman was gone, and the door was closed.

-----

Coming down for breakfast hand in hand, Harry and Blaise were in an argument that seemed to have been going on for some time. "You can't just…kick her out like that!"

"Yes I can. I have been since I was a small girl. This house may be free and open about things, but that makes it so that there is all the more respect for privacy among us. Because openness is so enforced, so is privacy, because here, it's either private or open knowledge, there is no middle ground really. So, privacy is an honored and "inalienable" right, as it were."

Harry nodded at the girl's logic, before grinning as he saw her face as she spoke it, seeing it said as if rehearsed and in such a way to show clear distaste for the wording she was speaking. "It doesn't take a lot of thought, Potter. Good thing you weren't a Ravenclaw, I'm afraid you'd shame the house."

"Oh get over yourself Blaise…" However his words trailed off as a voice spoke over him.

"Introducing Sir and Madam Harry Potter." And there was the sound of a weak trumpet blowing, and then the house elf disappeared, and Harry and Blaise were shown their seats at the table. Harry is still being held by her hand, and he looks at her and both roll their eyes in annoyance, but blanch to see Dumbledore, McGonagall, Lupin, Mrs. Zabini and even Snape, all sitting there at the table.

"Aww..."

"…Shit."

"Look, already finishing each other's sentences. I do think we may have stumbled on yet another Lily and James!" Lupin stated proudly.

"For that to happen, Potter would have had to get his head out of his arse long enough to realize that the world does not revolve around him, and the mud…Evans would have had to formed a coherent thought between her mutterings and boring rants to start a sentence that Potter could know anything about it." Snape muttered darkly. Harry clicked the ground with the toe of his boot, drawing Snape's eyes. The man's eyes darkened as he saw the recognizable boots, before Harry smirked.

"Kyoto says hi." Snape growled, but Dumbledore cut him off at the pass.

"Harry, we have come to talk to you. About many things, and one of them is Ms. Zabini, so if you would please disengage your hand from hers, and come and sit on this side of the table, then this could commence."

Harry looked to Blaise and didn't release her hand, before walking on the opposite side of the table as where he was instructed, where there was only one chair, and took a seat, before pulling Blaise down onto his lap, adjusting her so that his hands were resting somewhere hidden between the hem of her shirt and the waist of her pants. It was as much to irk them as to find a place to put his hands, and Snape almost exploded from his seat then and there.

"I refuse to allow this. Jamie, break this up so that matters can be discussed civilly." Snape spoke, not as a request, but almost an order.

"You will not order me around, Severus, and my name is James. Or Ms. Zabini. Do not dare attempt such intimate terms with me when you shout at my daughter. And the child I consider to become one of my own soon. They are not in any way acting uncivilized, she is simply sitting on his lap, enjoying the closeness. Nothing more."

"But when I walked in on them this morning, there was more than 'enjoying closeness' there. Jamie, you have got to get a reign on what they are doing."

"Minerva, you may have been my hus…ex-husband's aunt, and a respected figure in all of our lives, but you will not treat me like a small child incapable of making my own decisions, and do not disrespect Blaise enough to assume she is that kind of girl. And after the experiences Harry has had to go through, based on his, as of now untampered with Ministry folder, I would be thankful if he did shag her here and now. Because then that would prove to everyone that he was still with us, and that all of you weren't such prats and numbskulls as to damn our world to hell through this child!" She was like an angry, cornered wolf and a mother bear all at once. It was beautiful. And weird.

"Hey, she said here and now…" Harry said and winked as he moved to place Blaise on the table, and, seeing the appalled look on all of their faces, he smirked and then pulled her back down and kissed her cheek as they grinned, before turning and looking to them all.

"So, what is this all about?"

"Everything, Harry. Everything and nothing."

-----

"Harry, first of all we must evaluate the relationship between you and Ms. Zabini here. We like the notion of inter-house relations, however, we must be concerned about both of you and your safety."

"Where? Here or during school?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Both Harry, but mostly during school."

"I don't know if its me, but if the most 'Powerful Light Wizard in the World' and the 'Only one He-Who-Must-Be-Hyphenated Fears' can't keep a pair of teenagers safe, especially one that is your so called 'savior,' then perhaps I, well, we both, should look into a transfer. I hear France is nice this time of year. Nicer than here I reckon." Blaise said boldly, while Harry dragged his hands along the sides of her waist.

"Regardless, it will be an issue, Mr. Potter dating a Slytherin. The epitome of Gryffindor, its 'King' if you will, and the, as they call her, 'Queen' of Slytherin making a match is one that will not bode well with the school." Snape spoke calmly, with anger just below the surface.

"Now all we need are a jack, and a jack-ass…I mean joker. Snape, up for the last job." Harry muttered to Blaise's ear, and she laughed despite herself, and by the looks of it, it was not something appropriate, yet every stayed silent.

"I was meant for Slytherin, so how does that stand with you, Snape?" Harry spoke aloud.

"_Professor_ Harry."

"Whatever. Truth be told, I don't care about the school's reactions to all of this. I am more concerned about my friends. Them, I will talk to. But as of right now, screw everything else. For the rest of my time here, I want to be able to relax, and forget about the world being on my shoulders. Just for a bit. Hang out with my girlfriend, be a normal teenager, not some bloody Boy-Who-Won't-Die. Not a stupid prophesied 'Golden Boy' who has to be the savior, the goody-goody, the student, the athlete and his father, all at once for all of your individual benefits." At the mention of his father, Harry glared at Snape.

And Harry was kissed by Blaise, before they turned to the group, Dumbledore for once showing some signs of age. "Well Harry, we apologize, and I see that this meeting will not go very well. Mrs. Zabini, might I speak with you, Mr. Lupin and Professor McGonagall in private?" Mrs. Zabini nodded and stood, leading them into another room off to the side.

Leaving Harry, Blaise, and Snape.

Looking to his Potions professor, Harry regarded the man before lifting Blaise off of him. He walked across the table and grabbed a sting of grapes from a platter before sitting down again, popping on into his mouth. Blaise smiled at him and winked before changing seating styles and straddling his waist. Harry placed another grape in his mouth only to have it taken before he could even chew it by the girl, who then set about placing a grape on her lips for him to take.

Harry slid his hands down to her waist before back some, so they rested on the curve of her hips, his fingers brushing the top of her behind. And then his hands slid up under the girl's shirt, making it lift up some in the process. The girl's smooth back was displayed to her teacher, as well as two thin straps that barely showed, but disappeared back into the back of her jeans as they sat on the curve of her hips just so.

Watching the man with a smile, Harry hooked his thumb in one, pulling on it some, before releasing it, the elastic slapping back and snapping the girl, causing her to jump in his arms, before grabbing him and pushing him into a hard kiss.

Snape was stunned into silence as this went on for a while, missing the giggling and chuckling from the two, who were talking the whole time between grapes, laughing as Harry relayed the man's facial expressions to her. Blaise was a great student of the Art of Potion Making, the best in her year, and by far, some teasing as her head of house went was allowed. She was the only girl it seemed who had reached puberty in the Slytherin house that the man had not caught in some sort of snogging activity at some point, others like Pansy caught doing much worse by the man. So Blaise figured it was time to play some catch-up with her housemates.

And when the 4 adults returned, they were back to her sitting on his lap, his hands back in their previous place, and the stem from the grapes sitting lonely and bare on the plate before them both. As the teachers made to come back, Blaise caught eyes with her teacher, and popped the whole grape to between her lips from within her mouth, proudly displaying it, and then she chewed on it, grinning all the while at the man's face, stuck between outrage, shock, embarrassment, and some sort of blush.

"I think he might have a seizure." Blaise whispered to Harry, both still watching the man.

"Possible. He might also just blow up." Harry replied. After a moment of the man only getting redder in the face, they looked at each other and smiled deviously.

"He might do both." They said at the same time.

Dumbledore looked at Harry after the two stopped chuckling and said, "Well, Harry, I think that we have done all we can here today. We have made arrangements with Mrs. Zabini to have several of your close friends come over to this residence to see you as soon as we can round them all up, to spend a day. You have not been able to have much contact with them so far, and I apologize that Hedwig was not able to be brought here along with your things, which we have brought with us today, as she appeared to have been out hunting.

"Besides, we feel that some things are better left said in person. It's safer that way."

"Yeah, it can't get intercepted so I don't get Blaise, hurt, you mean. I understand perfectly clear, Professor. Now if that is all?" Dumbledore nodded, and Harry lifted Blaise, who stood to her feet before Harry started to head up the stairs. "I need to go upstairs and teach this girl here the finer points of a relationship, she's a bit rough around the edges." He made to take her hand, before she shook it off. He walked and suddenly she leapt on his back, with a growl. Not expecting it, she fell to the ground, and she was straddling him. She rolled him over before making like she was beating the hell out of him, slamming his head lightly on the ground. And brushing her hair behind her ear, locking eyes with him, she leaned down and kissed him.

"Headmaster…?" Snape muttered, and McGonagall was watching them with a hawk-like eyes.

"Severus, I know hoe much you do not like this, but I fear that, watching them together as we are now, to break them up could mean that we lose all hope of winning this war. Do you see him with her, Severus? Do you see that look? When was the last time you saw it on his face? I can't remember a time myself. And how much do you know about Ms. Zabini yourself?

"You might find, that the more you know, the more likely it will be that not only will you see why it is that they seem to have been drawn together, but also that they have a mutually beneficial relationship. And you can't claim to care for your students and want to do this to her. Look at her. She hasn't known him long, but I bet you that she knows more about him than anyone else in this room."

Snape looked to Lupin to see if the man would refute that statement, but he was looking almost reminiscent at the two, as Blaise kept getting close to kiss him, just to pull back. His hands were pinned down by her, and she rubbed her nose to his before pecking him, and then smirking before jumping up and trying to run from the room, but he rolled up and grabbed her arms and the lifted her up, fireman's carry.

She protested, screaming and kicking, and there was a slap as he slapped her rump, but she returned it, so he adjusted her, carrying her like a small child in his arms, and she kissed him as he carried her up the stairs, he hair out of place, as she stuck her bottom lip out while rubbing her behind, pouting some. But she smiled and wrapped her arms around his shoulders as he carried her out of the adult's view.

"You know, that was sweet and cute to the point that I have lost my appetite." Snape stated, and then looked to Dumbledore, and smiled a weak smile, "But I see what you mean."

Mrs. Zabini smiled at them and then turned to Dumbledore. "Well sir, I guess you should be going. I figure, his friends should find out sooner than later about all of this, so hopefully everything can be back to normal with Harry and his friends by the time school starts."

"Jamie, I think you underestimate the loyalty of Harry's friends." McGonagall protested.

"No, Minerva, I think you underestimate the devotion of my daughter. And the Pure Slytherin hiding in Harry." Mrs. Zabini responded, popping a grape in her mouth and sitting back, a calm smile on her face as she thought about the laughter she could hear even from her place at the table from her daughter and Harry.

-----

The laughter continued for some time. Blaise had shown Harry the magically created muggle stereo system that her "Aunt Minnie" as she called her, or Professor McGonagall, Blaise's great aunt, had given her for her birthday a few years before. She had then proceeded to put on some more wordless music, the beat a lot more loud, with electrical guitars, as Dudley had called them, in the forefront of the beat. Dudley was in a rock phase at Privet, and Harry heard music like that often.

However, as she watched Harry, Blaise smirked. "Harry, I'm going to put a song on for you. Its by a muggle band, the lead singer committed suicide some time ago, coming up on 2 years, and I just want you to move. There is really no right way to do this, but there is a way to do it so you don't get hurt." And she placed a song on, and Harry watched Blaise. She was jumping up and down on her bed, her hair everywhere, and soon Harry lost himself. The music was just so angry, but not, and it made him feel better, just to be able to lose it. Soon he was jumping around, his head nodding powerfully of its own accord, as he jumped around too. Soon the song was off, and Blaise went up to change it, as Harry pulled off his polo shirt, the room getting a bit warm for him with all the action. And he took a moment to reflect..

For once it wasn't something ironic, or anything like that, no words that changed anything for him, it was all about the feeling. It made him feel good having been able to get that out, and it showed him something about Blaise. It showed him more about her, and that made him just as happy as being able to be free, for just a little bit. But that all changed when a low thumping came, this one different but similar to the one from the day before, and Blaise walked over to him sexily, and pushed him back on the bed, before climbing up on the wooden baseboard so she was standing before him, as he lay back on the bed, watching her. Walking over to one of the posts on the four-poster, she held on and stretched her leg out, showing just how long it was, and flicked the light off with her foot. The faint light through the curtains colored the room a kind of deep violet color, casting a weird glint on everything.

Blaise had been wearing a simple white short-sleeved button-up and some fairly tight on the hips khakis, that seemed to just loosen as they came off of her hips. And moving with the beat, dipping her body with perfect balance, she began to unbutton the shirt, from bottom up, slowly her waistline of the pants came into view, and then with each button, more of her smooth, lightly tanned skin appeared before his eyes, the deep purple shadow of the room caressing it lightly as it came into view.

Harry longed to reach up, but did not want to distract her, and the look in her eyes was holding him still. And as her hands moved so slowly, button by agonizing button, more of her skin showed. And soon, the slight flash of pale blue was soon followed by the steady increase as more and more of her pale, powder blue bra came into view, the lacy showing nicely, and covering what was held just enough to let anyone who saw her as she was then long for more, but still barely be able to handle what they saw then.

"_I think I might have a coronary."_ Harry thought to himself as he watched her, and soon the buttons were all undone. And pulling the shirt around her, her hips never having stopped their sensual movement to the beat, she pulled the shirt open and almost off with one motion. And he looked at her in all her glory, her hair spilling over her shoulders, all unkempt and out of place, yet looking so perfect as such, and her eyes met his.

And a coy, sly grin slid across her face as she dipped her hips, dropping to a near crouch while still balanced on the bottom end of the bed, and locked eyes with him, licking her lips out as she trailed them over him, and then she grabbed the post and slid along it into a standing position, gripping it before twirling once around it, landing back where she leapt from, and, still holding the post in one hand, she dipped once more, sliding up into a standing position along it again, the post held tightly in her hands and held between her breast as well.

And wrapping a leg around the pole, she used the other one to bend some, sliding down before back up again. The entire rising and dropping motions were driving Harry insane, as she almost never lost direct eye contact with him, even with her head down, she was watching him behind thick lashes.

And with an all-too innocent look, she took one finger and slid it behind her ear, sticking her hair behind one ear, leaving half of her face covered by her hair, the other half clear now, and her eyes locked on Harry.

And then walking back to the center of the end of the bed, she did a dip, dropping down into a crouch, but this time she placed on hand on the bed before sliding back into a standing position, her legs first, her hand still on the bed even as her legs were straight, and then slowly sliding her front up as well, Harry watching her eyes, but taking a moment to soak in the look of her rising upper-body, and the thin bits of fabric that was causing him so much pain.

"I am seriously starting to not like blue anymore…" He muttered to himself. And Blaise heard.

"Then maybe I should just…get rid of it then." She said with a coy smile. And turning from him, she slid her hands behind her back, and toyed with the clasps, still looking back over her shoulder at Harry, but smiling and shaking her head and then a single finger at him, she turned back around and took the sides of the front of her pants in her hand, undoing the button there, and then slowly the zipper slid down, revealing the same sky blue color to his eyes, and she hooked her thumbs on the sides of the pants, turning and sinking down again, this time he could see the straps of her undergarments, and then she stood and turned, shifting her weight to one side, her hips tilted, before she slowly started to pull the khakis down.

And like all good things, it came to an end. An end in the form of a lanky, freckled body with red hair slamming into the door and pushing it open, shouting, "Harry!" loudly. And with the slam, Blaise jumped, lost her footing and fell. And that was how Ron found them, Blaise half naked, straddling Harry's body, her hands on his chest, as she had used them to break her fall, but with him still slightly sweaty and her half naked, her hands on his bare chest and neither looking particularly well put-together at the moment, Ron was halted completely.

And running into his back, was another redhead, this one shorter, her longer hair splashing into her face as he bumped into her halted brother, berating him immediately. "Can't you see this is the wrong room, Ron! I mean, she told us before she left, down the hall and to the left, we should have turned…" And she stopped as she looked around him and saw Blaise and Harry sitting there. Harry sighed an exasperated sigh before just slamming his head on his forehead, and slamming his head back as well, his eyes closed, muttering to himself.

Blaise for her part laughed loudly at something Harry said, falling forward, sliding her hands up over his shoulders, her head on its side and her eyes closed, both of them chuckling, and Blaise muttered something, and it turned into a full blown laugh from Harry, as he finally lifted her up, placing a kiss on her forehead before moving her and then getting off of the bed, walking over to Ron. "Hello, mate. Never heard of knocking?" He said, a smirk on his face, and then he looked over his shoulder at Blaise, who had her back to them and was buttoning her pant, but looked at him at that moment over her shoulder and gave him a big smile before looking on the floor and grabbing his shirt and yanking it over her head before pulling her hair from the collar.

When she looked up, brushing her hair back from her face and behind her ears, she peered up at the intruders with her slightly narrowed eyes. "May I help you both with something, seeing as how you all burst into my room and all. Or can I assume that you are looking for Harry?" And it would be just his luck that Harry's Polo shirt for that day happened to be green and white. And in those colors, even with Ron's frozen up perception, he caught on quickly.

"Your…a…that…whore…Slytherin! A Slytherin. Gin, go get Hermione, she has Harry under Imperius!"

Harry stared open-mouthed at his friend. He had not only just called him, as of then girlfriend a whore, but accused her of an Unforgivable. He looked to Blaise out of the corner of his eyes and saw her struggling to stay quiet, her hands clenched into fists. Reaching out and taking her hand, Harry turned to Ron. "I think we should all go down to the living room, there is _much_ to talk about, Ronald." Harry wasn't as angry as the sentence implied, but he liked the draining of color from Ron's face as he nodded and turned, bumping into a still unmoving Ginny, before taking her with him as they rushed down the stairs.

Blaise looked at Harry when the two were out of sight and whispered, "What the hell are they doing here? My mother is gone, and it's just us here. Why the hell are they here, they ruined my whole day already…idiot Gryffin…oh Merlin, not you, them."

"Its ok, I understood. They kinda ruined the whole thing for me too. Nice moves there, too." He said as he let her hand go as they got off of the last step, and she made to pout before he slid behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist and they walked together, her standing on his feet, which made her feel like a little kid again, walking like that with her mother through the park, only with Harry she felt different.

"_If feels safer. Life no matter what these idiot friends of his say to me, he's not letting me go."_ She thought her herself, and wrapped her arms around his on her front, squeezing his hands as she closed her eyes, taking it all in. When they got into the Living Room area, Harry took a seat on the loveseat they had been in the day before and resumed the same positioning.

"Harry, the couch is open, there is room here for you to sit." Ginny said, patting the seat that was between her and Ron, Hermione sitting across from them, knitting something in an obnoxious orange color and looking at Harry, attempting to be discreet. "I'm sure she can sit on her own…" Ginny spoke this with venom in her voice.

"No, I'm perfectly comfortable on my own, and Blaise can come and go as she pleases, so if she would like to sit there, I will not stop her." The girl shook her head, and then looked to his friends. "Is there a reason we are all down here, form what I understand there has to be a talk." Ginny was the first to start talking.

"Yes, Harry. We want to know what has been happening to you. We don't hear from you over the summer, and then all of a sudden, we hear something about Bellatrix Lestrange, and then we get word that you have been moved, not to the Burrow, or even to Grim…uh…Headquarters…but somewhere else. We get rounded up, told to have items for a night's stay, and then Professor Dumbledore gives us a portkey here. And when we go to find you, you are up there with…with her! What is up, Harry. And tell us, who and she and what is she to you?"

Harry had been watching all three of them as Ginny had spoken, and Ron was looking between Harry and Blaise, looking fairly lasciviously at the girl in question as well, but still with a speculating look about him. Hermione had speeded her knitting, but had been watching Harry, as was evident by her missing quite a few stitches here and there. And Blaise…Blaise, for all her part, was looking bored with the rant. She had stared at the ceiling in clear boredom before leaning over to the side and grabbing a magazine off of the coffee table and opening it. Holding it so Harry could see in it, she made a hand-signal of her hand talking, and then a quick face at Harry, and Harry sighed.

He wanted them all to be friends, and Blaise was not making an effort. Taking the magazine from her and closing it, he continued to look at Ginny. The girl grinned at this even as she spoke, but stopped when Harry slid his hand in Blaise's even as he watched her speak.

"Yeah, mate, what's been happening. We want to know, I mean, you disappear and then end up here with her, in…that position…and…we gotta know, mate, we gotta know."

"Know what? What do you need to know, Ron? If Harry is having sex? If he is shagging a girl in her own room with her mother's knowledge? Is that what you need to know, Ron? Maybe you want to know all the details. If that's what you 'gotta know' then please, keep that to yourself. Whatever Harry's love life entails does not, nor will it ever concern you unless Harry decides to date you, God forbid, so I do not see what she has to do with anything." Hermione stated, knitting at a fierce pace at this point.

"_Go Granger."_ Blaise thought, watching the girl go on. It was truly a sight to behold, and Ron sat there, in what looked like shock. And then stopping her knitting and placing whatever it was down on the table alone with the needles, Hermione looked up to Harry, her hair brushed over one side of her face in what was to look accidental but was clear to another girl was on purpose. "How have you been, Harry?" She asked in a voice so calm it might as well have been a different person from the last words spoken from her mouth.

Looking to Hermione, Harry sighed. "It's been how it's been, Hermione. You know how I am, and you know how, when I don't go looking for trouble for an extended period of time, it comes to my door, rings the bell to ask if something is wrong and if I can come out and play. This time, it found me, in the form of a group of Death Eaters posing as local kids from the neighborhood. Bellatrix was one of them. And as of this moment, the only one, I hear, left alive."

Ron's eyes bugged, and Ginny gasped, but Hermione, for her part kept a calm face through the whole thing, and a level head. "And who killed them, Harry?"

Here Harry laughed. "Would you believe me if I told you a skinny guy with pure black eyes, pure white hair, and the ability to jump near over Gryffindor Tower with one jump, and some guy with a gray duster on and two handguns, both of whom also beat the hell out of Snape in some way, shape or form?" Harry looked around and the looks told him what he wanted to know. Ron was having a hard time believing it, and Ginny was flat out confused. However, Hermione, for her part, looked just as usual. Calculating Hermione. He couldn't read anything from there.

"Harry, what happened with Bellatrix. I have heard some things but…I don't know what's true and what isn't." Hermione asked.

"Yeah, we heard she raped you." Ron damn near exploded these words from her mouth. Blaise visibly winced at the lack of tact, as did Hermione, and Ginny reached over and slapped him in the back of the head. However, Harry's eyes closed and he laid his head back.

"Yeah, she did. Funny, huh? That I can say my first time was with a woman twice my age that I hate to high hell, in a dirty alleyway, and she had to tie me down to do it. I mean, how many guys can say that? Not many, I reckon." Blaise hit him in the head, as she could feel the depressed feelings radiating off of him. "Not with some girl I care about, fumbling around in the dark trying to figure out what goes where, and it being bad for both, but in a fucking alleyway." Blaise ran her hand through his hair as his eyes were squeezed shut, and she could see the glistening of moisture on his eyelashes, being just held in.

"And the kicker? That's that, not only did she make sure that she's pregnant form it, but that I have to marry her now. Yes indeed, I am now officially engaged to a Death Eater, who is carrying my child by her, carrying the child right to Voldemort I bet."

Ron had gone into a paralyzed shock, and Ginny had her knees to her chest and her head down, and was rocking, with the sound of hiccupping coming from her. Hermione had her hand to her mouth, and had gotten up to sit on the coffee table across from him, rubbing his leg in a companionable manner. She locked eyes with Blaise for one moment, before grabbing the tissue box and holding it, handing the girl tissues with which to wipe her own tears, dab at Harry's eyes, and then using some of the tissue for herself.

Opening his eyes to look at Hermione, Harry smiled weakly. "Hermione, you were right about that 'saving-people-thing' that I have. Even that vile, disgusting woman. I saved her. Dumbledore was going to abort the baby, and it could have killed her, and I saved her." And putting his head back harshly, he gripped the arms of the sofa powerfully, and then let them go and just kind of fell limply back. He sat his head up slowly, to have Blaise hug him tightly, before he pushed her back gently. Looking to Hermione, the only one really looking _at_ him at the moment, he smiled. "Hermione, this is Blaise, Blaisey, this is Hermione."

Blaise, still crying, was hugged by the other girl, crying as well, in a hug much like old friends. Then, looking to Harry, who was smiling at them. Ginny jumped up and ran to him, and, brushing Blaise off, hugged Harry, her head resting on his chest.

And it was then that it became painfully aware to all in the room that Harry was, as of then, still without a shirt. Prying Ginny from him, Harry smiled to them all, Ron having snapped out of it all after all the crying was done, Harry spoke. "So…awkward moment, eh?" And with that he stood and stretched, before looking at them all. "Well…so…what were we going to do today, because personally, I feel the need to retreat back to my 'Nest' and take a nap. The whole 'emotional' thing kinda makes me tired."

Hermione looked at him and mouthed "Nest" and he smiled. "It's my bed. Its where B…where I go to sleep and to be calm. And if anyone finds the need to come mess with me, knock on the damned door first!" and with that and an inconspicuous glance at Blaise, he went up the stairs.

Blaise stayed around for a while, before inching toward the exit. Ron and Ginny had started talk on Quidditch, while Hermione had picked back up the knitting. So, she slid along the wall until she was right by the exit, and then made a break for the stairs.

Hermione looked up from her knitting, intending to engage the girl in conversation, to see the girl had made a break, running, for the stairs. As she headed to them, she was struggling to get Harry's shirt off, and it was up over her head when she made it to the stairs, and being unable to see, she tripped and landed on the stairs. "Shit!" she shouted, before she pulled the shirt off and looked around, a blush on her face to see Ron and Ginny about to look over from the sound, so she bolted up the stairs, slamming into Harry's door to find it not all the way closed, before she closed it, and locked it this time, and then threw his shirt to the side and almost leapt into the bed, the little "Nest" as it was called created, the pillows and blanket arranged to make an alcove, a true nest area on the inside. And entering it, she snuggled up to Harry, getting on top of him in the position Ron and Ginny had found them in. And listening to his heartbeat, she began to drift off.

"Ah, My Heron, what _have_ you gotten yourself into…look at you, and look at me. After only 2 days, and you have already stolen my heart. Goddamned thief, you are, Potter. Bloody…Right…Thief…" And she drifted off, him following as he drifted to the sound of her voice.

-----

"It has certainly been a while Mr. Potter."

"Hello, Karma." And the woman swept across the space and drew him to her, hugging him.

"Harry, I know it has been a while, and I know you might be confused. But let me tell you, things are going as they should. All things will fall in to place, I just wanted you to know that. And remember, love has its own place in war, and it has its own power, one that it would do well for you to harness, as it is a power that the other side does not wield."

And with that, she hugged him one last time, wishing him luck, before turning and walking off into the darkness.

-----

As he slept, Harry unconsciously pulled a blanket around he and Blaise as she shivered on him, and then both drifted deeper into the land of dreams.

-----


	7. Chapter 6

**FFOmega**

Part I: Bitter-Sweet Dreams

Chapter 6

It was moderately annoyed that Harry awoke sometime in the mid afternoon. Apparently someone had decided it would be a brilliant idea to bang on the door as loudly as possible and scream at the same time for him.

Blaise, for her part, looked about as annoyed as Harry felt, but, rolling out from under her, he left the "Nest" and went to the door, half-tempted to grab the boot that Kyoto had left for him and hit whoever was there at the door in the face with it. But recognizing the voice, he flung open the door after undoing the lock and looked to Ron.

"Hey mate. Sorry, but we needed to talk to Zab…uh, Blaise. We have only been able to find one other bedroom door unlocked. Her mum told us not to go in any room locked, so that means that, excluding hers and yours, there is only one room, and 5 of us."

Harry stared at his friend, before stepping from the door and closing it behind him, as Ron seemed to be trying to peek inside. Then, heading down the stairs to where he assumed Hermione and Ginny were. Then sprawling out on the couch, which was vacant, he sighed. Ron walking in found himself without a place to seat, and moved to sit on the arm of the chair Hermione was in. The girl in question, who had been writing in a normal muggle spiral notebook, stood without looking up and walked over to the couch, lifting Harry's feet and sitting down, to place his legs back. She patted his calf, in a sign to tell him it was ok for him to leave his legs there, and she placed her notebook on his legs and continued writing, he could feel her scribbling.

"So, this room thing. We need to figure it out, and no one is sleeping on this couch, its killing my back already. So…How about this. We can't have Blaise out of her room, so she has that room, and Hermione and Ginny can have my room."

"Ok then, mate, then it is us in the other room. Good, now that that is out of the way…" Harry adopted a very frightened look on his face, and Hermione put her notebook over her face to stop Ron form seing her trying not to laugh.

"Uh, Ron…mate…we are friends, but I am not sleeping in the same bed as you. It's not going to happen. Sorry, but…no." Hermione cracked and started laughing, and it became extreme laughter when Blaise came down, once more in his shirt, and smirked at Harry.

"Nice to know that you don't have bisexual tendencies Harry. Very nice to know." And she hopped over and lifted him up, and she sat so her legs were on the couch as well, facing the same direction as Harry, and pulled him up, so he was reclined on her, his back to her chest, and she wrapped her arms around him and held his hands. He moved his feet off of Hermione and they sat there, looking for all intents and purposes, the normal couple.

"So…who is sleeping where?" Ron spoke.

"Well, since I am sure Ginny won't want to sleep in the same bed as you, Ron, and I'm doubting Hermione will either, that means you are looking at sleeping alone tonight, sorry mate. Hermione and Ginny can have my room, and I'll be with Blaise." Harry didn't miss the looks that passed between Ginny and Ron, and Hermione wasn't even paying attention.

"Look, we are all old enough to know what we are doing, Merlin! Blaise and I have been together for all of 2 days. I don't need a chaperone from any of you, and if you feel the need to watch everything I am doing, then I am sure that the door locks can keep you all out this time." And with that, he rolled his eyes and stood. "If nothing else, I would like to go back upstairs, maybe get started on some work." Turning, he felt Blaise's arms on his shoulders as she stood on the couch, before she jumped onto his back. Adjusting her on his back, he waddled to the stairs before heading up.

Hermione stood as well, and followed them up the stairs. "Harry, do you think that I can do that work with you both? I can understand if not…but, they have been going on about Quidditch for some time, and if Ginny asks me one more question about boys, and more specifically anything else about your chest and stomach, I will make her eat this notebook." Harry laughed and nodded, and they all walked into Blaise's room, where Harry set her down before heading out to his room and lifting his trunk, carrying it into her room and setting it down lightly on an empty wall. Opening it, he pulled out several books and a pile of parchment, as Blaise went into her closet, coming back out with a new shirt on.

"Uh…where's my shirt?" Harry asked, seeing her in a short, pale pink t-shirt. She shrugged and headed over to her bed. However, Harry shook his head at her. "Blaise, where the hell is my shirt?"

"Your shirt? Ha! Its mine now, and you are never getting it back!" Blaise laughed maniacally before sticking her tongue out at Harry.

"Damned thief." He muttered before shaking his head and putting another shirt on and walking over to the window seat. Sitting down, he cracked a book open and began to read.

Blaise walked over and settled down with him there, and eventually he put his book down. Yawning to himself, they sat there for a moment before Blaise walked over to the sound system. Looking to Hermione, she raised an eyebrow, and the girl nodded, unable to really deny Blaise the right, as it _was_ her room.

Turning on some gentle music, she pulled out a chessboard, and motioned to Hermione for a game. The girl shrugged and nodded, before both got onto the bed and set up the pieces and began. Harry yawned and stirred in his seat, visibly uncomfortable.Turning to Blaise, he spoke. "Blaise, I'm bored...I need something to do. Let's go out somewhere." Blaise raised an eyebrow.

"Not right now. We can talk to my mother tomorrow, or better yet, we can all just head to London tomorrow. I need to quit that job of mine anyways, so you can get that energy out then."

"So what am I supposed to do now?" Harry almost whined. He was bored out of his mind, really, and was going stir crazy in the house. She smiled at him and patted the bed softly, and he shook his head, seeing that the bed would tilt and knock all of the pieces off. Blaise rolled her eyes and jumped up and down on the bed, and the pieces stayed where they were.

"It's charmed. Now get up here, we can all talk." Harry rolled his eyes at this, but climbed onto the bed and sat with his back to the headboard, his knees up. Blaise crawled over and sat with her back to his chest, his knees raised on either side of her with her legs the same, both of them facing Hermione.

"Well, we haven't been formally introduced, I just know you by reputation. I'm Hermione Granger." Hermione said, sticking her hand out to Blaise.

Smiling to her, Blaise accepted the hand and shook it. "Blaise Zabini."

"So…how did you two get involved…if you don't mind me asking!" Hermione rushed the last part, not wanting to offend her new friend. Blaise smiled and relayed the entire clothing store thing from her part, while rubbing Harry's hand with her own. Hermione laughed at several places, and then smiled to her. "So, when is your birthday?"

"It's in about a week. Do you want to come to the party? It's not going to be too big, some family friends, some friends from school, Harry of course. Its probably going to be here, some dancing, the like." Hermione nodded excitedly, and Blaise smiled. "Nothing formal, but of course, not like…too informal I guess. Feel free to bring a date but…I don't think either of the reds downstairs particularly care for me, but bring who you want."

"I don't think I will be bringing anyone, but sorry about them. They, well, mostly Ron, aren't open to change too much, especially Harry dating a Slytherin."

"It was funny when he told me that he was supposed to be there. In Slytherin I mean. I can't help wanting to kick Draco Malfoy in the balls the next time I see him for that. This whole thing could have started years ago…no offense to you all and your friendship."

"Its ok, I find myself wondering about having been in Ravenclaw like the hat wanted as well. I mean, if nothing else, the will to learn wouldn't be looked down on." Blaise nodded.

"And the other redhead? What's her deal?"

"Ginny? She has been 'in love' with Harry for years. A crush that has mutated really, I don't like dishing dirt on friends, but that is what it is. She still thinks Harry's favorite color is emerald green, and that she still has a chance with him. Ha, everyone who knows Harry know that…"

And together the two girls said, "His favorite color is blue and she has no chance." They laughed, and then looked over when they heard nothing from Harry. The boy had drifted off. Blaise smiled before getting off the bed. Hermione did as well, and they pulled the blanket from under him gently and then pulled it up over him, and then they went into Harry's room. It was still set up with the "Nest" in the middle, so the two of them went into its confines to continue talking.

"What is this, exactly?" Hermione asked, looking at the circular barricade of pillows and blankets in the middle of the bed.

"We call it the 'Nest', a play off of Harry's name." Upon the girls confused look, Blaise answered. "He found out his real name is Heron." Hermione chuckled. "This is where we have been hiding from the world it seems for some time. Since I found out about the whole…Lestrange thing…We have been here. I think it was good because it made him feel protected. I don't know, I will ask mother more about it when she returns, but from what I am able to collect, it is a protection thing, as well as…it seems like the child in him coming out. The childish need to have one's own space. Like when you build a fort out of your bedding for only yourself."

Hermione nodded, surprised at the girl's knowledge. She smiled at her and Blaise blushed. "You pick this up when your mother is a psychologist for muggles and magical people alike, so I grew up surrounded by a lot of knowledge of the way the mind works. Not my own deductions, just regurgitating information."

After more talking, ranging on many subjects, they were finally interrupted. Harry walked groggily into the room, wiping his eyes and yawning. His shirt was in his hands, the buttons missing apparently, and there was a deep red inflammation on the boy's forehead as he wandered in. He sat down on the floor by them, laying his head back on the side of the bed, before coughing deeply, a hacking cough, and then moaning as the coughing stopped.

Hermione reached down and moved his hair out of the way, feeling his forehead. She gasped as she pulled her hand back. Blaise reached down quickly, and felt for herself. He was burning up, and the coughing was getting more frequent. Turning to Hermione for advice on what to do, they both got down and helped to walk Harry back to Blaise's room, placing him on the bed, before running into the connected bathroom and grabbing a towel and running cool water on it.

Ringing it out, Blaise ran out and placed it on his forehead, dabbing at his scar as she sat behind him, his head in her lap. His eyes drifted shut, and moments later, with his eyes still screwed shut, his scar seemed to turn a deep red, and his back arched off of the bed, and he screamed a deep, pain-filled scream.

Blaise rubbed the towel on his forehead and cooed to him, singing softly, while looking up at Hermione in complete and utter shock. She was helpless, and looked to the other girl for help. Looking at the situation for the moment, Hermione looked panicked for a moment. "Wake him up, the longer he is sleep, the more he seems to be hurt. Is the house on the Floo network?" Blaise nodded. "I'm going to go and fire-call Dumbledore."

And Hermione bolted from the room. Blaise was thankful for the silencing charms put on the room that blocked most sound out as long as the door remained closed, as she was sure that Ron and Ginny would have been up here very quickly from the scream, with a wrong assumption, if the door had been opened.

Cooing to Harry, Blaise was troubled. She would shake him gently, and he would seem to be on the brink of waking before a tremor would rack his body, and then he would be back, deep in the painful sleep. Leaning down to him, she pressed her lips to his gently. His hands shot up to start to claw at his hair and his forehead, and Blaise grabbed them, holding them away from him, and looking around for some way to help him.

Hermione flew back into the room, to find it sweltering hot, and the heat seemed to be coming off of Harry's body. Blaise motioned to the window and threw it open, and almost as soon as she did, a blur launched into the room, and there stood Kyoto.

He shot over to the bed and looked down at Harry. His hair got into his eyes, and suddenly he pulled it back and a black clasp that none of them saw was holding his hair back and high atop his head in the back. And looking down at Harry, he sighed as he touched his forehead and then traced the jagged scar on the boy's forehead, which was radiating extreme amounts of energy.

"This is _**not**_ good at all. Not at all. Shit…If I'm right…oh dear sweet Shadows, let me be wrong here. Let me be wrong." He seemed to be praying almost as he said this. He started to pace, and there was a deep darkness around his form as he did, the shadows of the room all bending from their normal positions to point toward him, following him around, as if trying to touch him somehow. And the darkness around his eyes intensified greatly.

Suddenly Ms. Zabini rushed in, followed by Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey. The latter two rushed to Harry, while Ms. Zabini hung back, instead glancing over to the white-haired person pacing around the room, muttering curses that ranged in intensity as well as language. She walked over to him and he stopped pacing.

"What is happening?" She asked. He looked down at her, and shook his head.

"Now is not the time. Let us just hope that what I hope is happening is not." He said simply, before hearing Harry shout again and sinking down to the floor. "Shadows, please don't let this be happening…"

-----

Ms. Zabini sat down across from Kyoto, and when he shifted his head from looking down at the floor to up at the ceiling with a groan, despite the situation, a chuckle left her mouth. She covered her mouth, but Kyoto looked at her. "What the hell is so funny?"

She shook her head, but given his narrowing eyes, she sighed. "It's just…with your hair pulled back…"

"Yes, I look like a girl. Get over it. Seriously, why is it that I only hear that from women, and at the most annoying times?" And reaching up and pulling the clip out of his hair and seeming to place it in his pocket, his hair cascaded down and behind his shoulders. Dumbledore, however, walked over to Kyoto.

"What is happening to Mr. Potter?" Kyoto glared at the man, that was clear. And turning to Ms. Zabini, he spoke.

"What is going on right now is rightly a very dangerous thing. Voldemort could very well be doing a Demon Summoning Ritual, and this is dangerous to Harry because of the connection. The overwhelming darkness of the Ritual is collapsing his system. It is overloading him with darkness, and his fairly pure soul is getting a rapid flush of darkness and his body is…basically shutting down. There are only 3 ways that I know of for this all to stop. And at the moment, only 2 off them are particularly practical."

"And those are?" Dumbledore asked. Kyoto flipped him off.

"And those are?" Ms. Zabini repeated.

"One, we gradually induce some darkness into his soul, so the darkness he is getting isn't such a shock. And two, we flood his system with such goodness and 'love'," at the word love he made little finger quotes in the air, "that it expels a lot of the darkness. From how I ordered these and how I acted about the second, you can tell which I think is more likely to work. Actually, I guarantee the first will work, if nothing more than some undesired results."

"What would these options entail?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"Well, the second, the most likely way this could happen is…well…for Harry to be surrounded by love."

"So…like…people that love him hugging him and holding him?" Hermione asked. At this, Kyoto started laughing. The laughter got louder at her confused face, and eventually he stopped and smiled.

"Well…that is way too simplified. And not on the right path. Surrounded…hmm…how can I phrase this well…Oh, I got it. He has to be…loved…in the physical sense of the term. 'Surrounded'…got it?" At her confused look, as well as the confused look on everyone but Blaise and her mother, he sighed. "Idiot wizards. Someone who loves him has to have sex with him. There, I said it."

Blaise blushed and then asked, "What about the first one?"

Kyoto sighed here. "Who is the potions expert here?" Looking around, Dumbledore was about to raise his hand when Ms. Zabini spoke. "Blaise."

Kyoto smiled and turned to the girl. "Tell me what you know about Demon tears and blood."

The girl looked unnerved, still stroking Harry's forehead as he seemed to be screaming, but for the sake of the conversation had been placed under a silencing charm. "Well, Demon blood is said to grant demon-like power for as long a time as it takes to leave the system, and when ingested, it does the same. Strength, speed and increased brain activity can be some results, and it all depends on the demon.

"Getting it into the bloodstream is difficult because it can become explosive when placed in an open cut when left to stagnate in a room for too long, meaning no one has ever actually done it recently because no one can get a demon there long enough. But back to the point…I think the book said the blood never leaves the system when put into the bloodstream, as it causes the person to mutate on the inside so that their marrow creates cells that match the demon cells, effectively turning the person to, in the very least, part demon."

Nodding and smiling, Kyoto asked, "And the tears?"

"Well, Demon tears are said to do similar actions, only they are arguably the most dark of all substances in the world. Because a Demon never cries, they are rare, but they seem to be of deep healing property for Demons, because Phoenix tears do little to a Demon outside of hurt them, because of the polarization of the two creatures and their sides, one being light and the other dark."

"What does this have to do with Harry?" Dumbledore asked, accusingly.

"Fuck you, you old bastard. What this has to do with Harry is, should we be able to introduce Demon blood to him, that would be darkness enough to cause the ceremony to no longer harm him. Blaise here had everything about the tears outside of the fact that they are also very potent for the after-effects of Demon summonings regardless of the darkness of the soul. And right now, Harry is getting all of the effects of the summoning, while Voldemort is getting all of the benefits."

"And where are we getting Demon's blood?" Ms. Zabini asked.

"Yes, as the last Demon's blood was obtained at least a decade ago, and with the type of summoning, we may need to go the route of the injection. So what do you suggest, unless one of us intends to summon a Demon." Snape walked through the door as he said this, and looked to Kyoto, who stood in response, taller than the Potions' Master by at least a few inches.

"Easily." And then he pulled off his long-sleeved shirt. He was incredibly thin, but the muscles stuck out of this thin body to show that he was in incredible shape. And there were many metallic clasps on his arms, with little keyholes in them. He produced a ring of keys and began to unlock all of them. All but one. And that one was on his wrist. And he held it up to Snape, and took the man's hand and touched his finger to the metallic band.

Recoiling, Snape stared at Kyoto for a long moment, shock apparent on his face before he stepped away from the man.

"Even the limited darkness in your soul should have been able to know who you are talking to." And then turning to the confused faces, he smiled. "The answer all of you missed was, the fact that it will be incredibly easy to get Demon blood."

"From where?" Hermione asked.

"Not where, who. And that would be me."

"You!" Dumbledore shouted. "Impossible. You have to summon a Demon, they are not allowed on this plane of existence."

"Usually, yes. But in my case and in the case of all the others that are on the Demonic level I am, that is not true." At the confused look, he rolled his eyes. Placing a nail to his palm as he walked over to Harry, he made a slash before he sat next to Harry. He brought his nail up and slashed down Harry's scar. The boy's back arched off of the bed, but with a hand to his stomach, Kyoto forced him back down. He then clenched his hand into a fist, until drops of blood began to fall. But this blood was not red. It was a deep, almost negative black. And he allowed the drops to drip onto Harry's forehead, onto the scar. As he did this, he spoke.

"Heaven and Hell had an argument. At the rise of Hell, there were some of us who wanted out. We didn't want to be in Heaven, but didn't want to be in Hell. So, getting together, Hir and Lucifer decided on a little…game. They took all of us, and gave us able use of one of our Demonic powers on Earth. And then put a Lock-Guard, as they are called, on a place on our body. In order to unlock the guard, and therefore another of our Demonic powers, we have to kill the other Demon who had our Key, which is attached to their being.

"In the end, the only way for one of us to be able to be free from the hold of Hell is to kill all the ones loyal to us. And when we do that, the game starts over. We can die, and when the one who kills us is killed, we simply come back and have to start all over again. It is a sick game that almost has no end." He sighed, and then smiled. "Good thing that the curse can not be passed down. Harry won't have to worry about this, and as of now, will be the only half-Demon in the last long while that I myself know of. I had a kid a long time ago and she was a Halfling, but I don't know what happened to her, it could have been many generations ago."

He looked to Harry, to see the boy having stopped moving around but his eyes were still closed. And suddenly the room got very dark. And his back arched off of the bed and he seemed to shake. Blaise, for her part, was panicking. But Kyoto shook his head.

"It's just the reaction to the change. From what I understand, it hurts for a while. I don't know much, but my sister changed a small girl once who was on the verge of dying." And then slowly Harry stopped shaking and simply laid back. Hermione stood in a corner, her hand over her mouth in silent horror, and looked to the still unmoving Harry.

"So what is going to happen to him?" Blaise asked. "Is he going to look like you? Will he have wings and be all evil-looking or something?"

"No, no wings. He won't change much at first. He will get some Demonic reactions, like his hair might start to grow at an alarming rate, as well as puberty might get sped through really quickly. Demons usually go through puberty in about a year, it takes me on average about half that for some reason.

"So with him being a good half way through, and the fact that he will take on a lot of my characteristics, Demonically, he will finish all his growing quickly. Besides that, all powers he will have will derive from me. So, his muscle power will grow beyond what should be possible, especially his leg strength, which will be extreme. His bones, nails and teeth will be incredibly strong, or more, very hard.

"His eyes might change, might not, but his night vision will be great as well. No shooting things from his eyes, nothing like that. I know this seems like a lot and everything, but it will be a lot easier to accept as time goes. Also, I won't be too far away, especially since I finally have my own little brother. Not going to miss him growing up." And with a smile, Kyoto turned to Harry. Closing his eyes slowly, he muttered something, and then a blood-red tear welled up in his eyes, and then dripped down onto Harry's forehead.

"What was that third option?" Hermione asked. At this point, Ron and Ginny were allowed in, and they looked over to Harry, his body still and laying fairly limp.

"Well, me finding Voldemort and kicking his ass. However, that wasn't very likely, especially with the fact that no one knows where he is, and the fact that whatever Demon he summoned is more than likely doing to him just what I did to Harry. So let's just say that all of you who are after old Voldemort might be a lot more…unlikely to win. But hey, not like I care."

"Mister…Mister Nox…Might I be able to get some Blood and Tears from you…?" Snape stammered. Kyoto turned to him, before flipping him off and then doing the same to Dumbledore. And with that and a salute to everyone else, he turned from them and headed out to the window. And climbing up in the window, he leapt from the sill and was gone.

-----

"Wow, what a day." Harry muttered as he opened his eyes, before grasping Blaise's hand slowly, and smiling at her. Hermione, Ron and Ginny all rushed over to him, and the adults slowly made their way out.

"Albus…what can we do about this? He is a Half-Demon now! We can not allow this kind of power to fall into his hands senselessly."

"And yet, Severus, there is no other way. I fear that, at this moment, Voldemort is undergoing a similar transformation. And I fear that, despite the hate Mr. Nox has for us, he is one of the better Demons out there."

"Weaker, you mean?" Snape asked incredulously.

"No, Severus. For I believe, as I observe him more and more, my admiration of the young…well, of him grows more and more. Because, you see, he has the strength to utilize a tactic that I am saddened to say I will never be able to teach Mr. Potter."

"And that is?"

"Having a great deal of power, and knowing when to hide it all. Knowing when to back off, and not to show everyone what you have."

"What do you mean by that, Albus?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"That man is called 'Shadow' in some places. I looked. If you intend to know more, then talk to me elsewhere. For I fear that we have overstepped our boundaries, and Mr. Potter can hear our conversation, and is not happy with being spoken of."

"How can he hear us! We are…"

"Severus, you better than anyone know how easily one's senses can increase with one change, one bit of darkness to the soul can thus change everything about someone." And with those words the adults from Hogwarts left the house.

-----

"Well mate, for once, I am glad I am not in your position. I bet you will probably be pretty weak for a while, so I guess out trip for tomorrow in London is cancelled." Ron said. Harry looked at him, and shrugged his shoulders. All he wanted to do was go to sleep. At that point, he couldn't have cared less about London if he found out that going there would ensure a meeting with Draco Malfoy, and an ensuing confrontation.

"Well Ron, I'm sorry about that. But at the moment, I couldn't care less. I want to go to sleep."

"You can sleep here, Harry! The bed is big enough for the 3 of us, you, me and Hermione. So you don't have to move." Ginny's exclamation caused Blaise to narrow her eyes at the girl. Ginny rolled her eyes at Blaise, who in turn cracked the knuckles on her left hand with her right, before speaking.

"I'm sure that Harry can make it, and if he can't, then I know enough about Hermione to trust her in my room, and if she trusts you enough, then I guess you can sleep there as well."

Harry saw the eminent confrontation, especially stemming from Blaise's not so subtle comment about not trusting Ginny. He spoke with his gravelly voice. "Its ok, I think I can make it there at the very least." And leaning up, he walked toward the door. Blaise ran to help him, but found him walking perfectly steady. They made it to the room, but he walked by the bed to the bathroom. And walking in there, he started to lean down to fill the tub. Blaise ran over and did it for him, before helping him pull off his shoes and then his socks.

She reached up and undid the button on his pants before checking the water temperature and then adding bubbles. Harry made to protest, but she shook him off before shocking Harry by pulling off her shirt and then slipping down her pants. Her hands went behind her back and undid the bra, but kept it still mostly on as she pulled down on the pants legs, pulling them off of him.

"Uh…Blaise?"

"You aren't going in there alone, and it's not like it's much you haven't seen before above the water. Besides, what girl can say they bathed with Harry Potter? Besides, someone has to wash your back." She started with confidence, but the more she spoke, the more her confidence waned. But Harry nodded, and both took turns turning their heads as the other got in the tub, which was round and big enough to fit 2 more people, much like a Jacuzzi, almost.

And she scooted over to him, and then pulled him so his back was to her chest, but pushed him down so he sank down some more in the tub, and then she began to run her wet fingers through his hair, and washing the remaining blood from his forehead, slowly and gently.

"You scared me, Harry. And even more…I scared myself. I was so sure I was going to lose you. And I didn't like that I felt so…helpless. I can't lose you, not so soon. Not when I finally know so much." She said slowly, and gently, so soft he barely heard her. "I know we never talked about this officially but…do you think…do you think I could be your girlfriend? Like…officially? Because I want to know that, if it all comes down to it, I can at least have your consent to go through with the little…'surround him with love" thing.'" At his confused face, she smiled softly. "Better you don't know. But…Well…"

Harry smiled gently, even though she couldn't see it, and reached up, clasping the hand that was running through his hair. "Of course, Blaise. Of course. Feel free to…'surround me with your love' anytime. Oh Merlin that sounded perverted." He said, and Blaise cracked and started laughing hysterically.

"See! We got it. Why is it that when Kyoto said it, no one else got it but me and my mum? I mean, Dumbledore, Snape, and Pomfrey I can understand. But Hermione! Even as a virgin, I know the lingo and all that about sex. I know I am tainted, but damn, what is she, an angel?"

Harry laughed and then began to run his hands up and down her calves as she talked and ran her hands through his hair for a while before she grabbed one of the wash towels and began to lather it up with soap. Sitting him up, She scrubbed on his back, and then tossed the towel onto his chest. He looked back at her, to see her smile and then push him up and turn.

"My turn."

-----

Kyoto was not happy. Not at all. He had run toward the largest source of Demonic energy he could sense. And as he got there, he saw what looked like a prison, but the walls seemed almost to have a sense of being more to keep people out than to keep people in. Crouching down near the wall, he leapt up and did a flip in the air, and landed atop one of the posts on the wall that connected the barbed wire to the other strips of barbed wire on the wall. Looking around, he leaned forward and jumped, breaking the post and knocking all of the barbed wire down all around the enclosure, as he launched himself toward the main citadel of the fort.

The aura was dark, but not truly _dark_. It was tainted, and not black but almost a sickening, vomit green. It was large, and seemed to pulse every so often. As he cut through the air from his jump, he turned and landed on the side of a building before seeming to rebound the moment he hit it toward the large tower in the center, bouncing around like a pinball off of the buildings, but always going toward the large tower. But as he neared it, he saw 3 figures in black robes patrolling the top of the tower, wands out.

Grinning darkly as he stopped in a crouch across from them, he leapt one last time toward them. As he neared them, he turned and laid a kick to the closest one's chest, and then spun in the air and hit another in the side of the head, sending him off of the side of the tower and down many stories to his death. The last one leveled his wand, but before he could get a spell off, Kyoto did a no-handed backflip, sending the wand into the air, before, as he landed from the acrobatic move, he shoulder-charged the man, and then kicked him in the front of his kneecap, shattering it.

With a punch to the jaw, the man's attempt to yell was silenced, and Kyoto crept toward the door. Slipping in, he walked into the main tower. And looking down from the catwalk he ended up on, he saw into the middle of the tower. And there stood Voldemort, and in the center of a blood pentagram was a demon. It was a demon that Kyoto knew well, a sickening creature that he believed gave all demons a bad name.

Large and muscular, with deep gray skin that looked like stone, and wings too small to get it off of the ground, its face was forever drawn into a dark scowl. He had a chin sculpted much like the facial hair goatees of pharaohs of ancient Egypt, and wore a headwear style similar as well. Looking around to all of the Death Eaters standing, watching the summoning, Kyoto shook his head. He pulled out a cell phone too advanced for the time and pushed one button, and it began to dial a number.

"What!"

"Get here."

And the line went dead, and moments later a rip in the very fabric of space and time opened, and then the tall figure in the gray duster stepped out, handguns in hand. Kyoto wasn't even looking at him, but was crouched on the metal railing, looking down as the demon stood for a moment, before talking in a deep, sickening voice.

"You are the one who summoned me. I assume you want to be transformed with my blood? Very well. I can sense the darkness to your soul, you are half way to being a demon in the first place." And then he stopped. "I sense a Demon here. Why did you not use him…He is one of The Locked!" He muttered words in a language that Voldemort didn't understand.

"Temper, temper, Phearamos. No need to curse so very much." Kyoto spoke. No one knew where to look but the Demon.

"And The Fallen! The Lord of the 5th! My Liege's Sire…" The demon looked rightly scared.

"Fuckin' Right." The man in the gray duster spoke. And then, climbing up on the railing, he leapt and grabbed a chain on a levy and was carried down, as Kyoto jumped down, flipping in the air before landing in a crouch, dust billowing up and cracks showing in the cement under him. Shots rang out as Death Eaters were hit by bullets before they even knew what was happening.

Kyoto jumped and twisted in the air, his feet slamming into the large Demon, Phearamos, and creating cracks in the creature's arm. The second Kyoto hit the ground, he kicked the creature in the arm, and then once in the hand, thus knocking the creature's arm off. Leaping back and straight up, Kyoto shot up to the ceiling with the leap, grabbing a hold of one of the pipes and flipping around it once, before being sent back down with the momentum. He crashed into the alter that had the knife waiting for the Demon ceremony, Kyoto assumed.

Voldemort had been knocked out of his shock and turned to blast Kyoto. However, the white-haired Demon leapt forward and dive-tackled the Demon Phearamos, and then punched the creature in the face. Grabbing the goatee, he lifted the creature up by it, before kicking it in the chest while still holding the goatee. The rock facial hair broke off and the Demon flew out of the pentagram and screamed before just falling down, seemingly dead.

Kyoto ran over, trying to avoid the spells, and then used the goatee rock that he held and drew a circle around the body of the Demon. He did a few more designs on the inside, and then clasped his hands together, concentrating as he squatted behind the Demon's body, using it as a shield for a moment. Darkness flared up around his hands and then he slammed them down on the ground, and there was power flaring up around the Demon's body. And then as it died down, there sat a sword. Its blade was pure black, with gray hieroglyphs on the bottom of the blade. The handle was gray as well, with the guard a pentagram shape. It had a dark glow on it, and it was a long sword, shaped like a katana more than an English sword.

And lifting it with a dark smirk on his face, he crouched down and leapt up into the air. He came down in the middle of a few Death Eaters that had been trying to construct shielding from the gunfire. He began to slash forward, taking off body parts, the blade glinting and almost seeming in glee as it attacked people.

The man in the gray duster was firing bullets quickly, arms apart and taking down Death Eaters more and more. Suddenly he heard a scream behind him, and he dropped down onto his back as a bright green blast hit the Death Eater that had been in front of him, and looking up to who was behind him but was now over him, he saw Antonin Dolohov. The man was missing an eye and had a long scar going from his nose around and down to the bottom of his jaw.

Smirking and rolling back while killing everyone around him without really paying too much attention. And finding a respite from the spells, seeing Kyoto in the thick of it with some kind of weapon that was giving off a dark energy, a Demon aura almost, he squared off with Dolohov.

"You goddamned bastard. Do you see what you did to me you prick!"

"Baretta."

"What?" Dolohov shouted.

"That is my name. So call me out of it once more and you will very well be dead before you can remember being alive."

The chilling voice of the man before his made Dolohov falter for a moment. But then he looked over to see Voldemort watching him, seeming to watch what his servants could accomplish. So he was filled with a new resolve. "Fuck off you bloody wanker!"

Baretta smiled. He seriously smiled. And then he put his guns away. And suddenly he pulled out the sawed off from his back. "What the fuck is that!" Dolohov seemed to laugh as he saw it.

"This…This is Apathy. Say 'Hello' to this bastard, won't you?" And then he fired. The two orbs shot forward, and swirled around and then hit Dolohov, and with a screech from the man, a rip was formed behind him, and he was expelled into it, before coming out in a rip behind it, and then seemed to be sucked into himself before exploding into shards of nothingness.

And with a wink to Voldemort as Kyoto cut down one of the last Death Eaters capable of firing a spell, he seemed to create a similar rip in space and time, and stepped through and disappeared. Kyoto looked to Voldemort and raised the sword. "How ironic that the most feared wizard in the world couldn't be smart enough to research Demon Summonings. He couldn't have turned you."

"And why is that." Voldemort asked, his eyes narrowed darkly at the man in front of him.

"Because, you dumb ass, Phearamos is a stone sphinx Demon." He paused at the unaffected look on the "Dark Lord"'s face. "Stone. He doesn't have blood, idiot!"

"I'll kill you!" Voldemort shouted in threat as grew angry. He knew how fast the figure could move, and didn't understand how possible it was. He also wondered how he knew of the arcane form alchemy, which had fallen from practice even before Demon Summonings had, there weren't even books left of it...

"Ha! Wanna know a secret? Something you should check out as soon as possible. You see, Demons can't be killed by a killing curse from a human. If you had found a way to pull off that Summoning and then the Ritual to become a Halfling, then I would worry. But as of now…Fuck off." And he flipped off Voldemort before doing a no-handed back flip that landed him up several floors in the tower, and he smiled. Looking at the sword, he contemplated what to do with it as he wandered out of the Tower, killing everyone he walked by with an absent flick of its blade. He ran things through his head, before smiling. "Well, I know who is getting a really killer birthday present this year…" And he leapt from the tower and off into the night, the full moon glowing overhead and Voldemort's enraged scream echoing in the background.

-----


	8. Chapter 7

**FFOmega**

Part I: Bitter-Sweet Dreams

Chapter 7

Harry awoke to find himself curled up next to a mostly naked Blaise. His own body wasn't exactly clothed as much as possible, finding himself in little more than a pair of sweat shorts he had made by cutting off the bottoms of a pair of sweat pants. He stretched as he climbed out of the bed and headed over to the bathroom.

Coming out, he stopped moving completely as he saw a white-haired figure standing there holding the white backpack that had been left on the floor. Kyoto looked up to Harry, and smiled. That day Kyoto was wearing black sweatpants and a black hooded sweatshirt with two words on the front. "Fuck Off." His hair seemed to be in braids of some sort, but Harry couldn't see the top of it, as he had a black hat on top of his head. He wasn't wearing his black steel-toed boots either, but was wearing some black tennis shoes.

"What's with the look?" Harry asked.

"Ah, got bored and decided to play some basketball. Fun sport, especially when you are fully capable of jumping _over_ the people you are playing against. Came by to adjust the backpack."

"What exactly happened yesterday?" Harry asked. He knew that something in him had changed, and he knew about a Demon summoning, and was aware of Kyoto being one himself, but he wasn't sure how.

"Voldemort was being an asshole. So, I had to make a few changes to you to make you survive it. You really are a lot like me now. Half-Demon, you are now." They had a talk about what that entailed, and Kyoto pointed to a mirror, and Harry looked in some shock as he saw he had grown some, looking to be near 5' 11". He had never heard of anyone growing at least 2 inches overnight. His hair was a bit longer, brushing just past his shoulders, and he felt a lot lighter as he walked. Harry shrugged, before asking what Kyoto was doing.

"I told you already, dumb ass." He said cheekily, and smiled at him. "Came to adjust the backpack. Since you are going to be a lot stronger, might as well raise the weight. Changed the boots already. Outside of that, nothing more to do." Kyoto tossed something to Harry before he exited his usual way, from the window. Harry looked and saw a black hair clasp of some kind. He pulled his hair back and up, so it was out of his face for a bit and then he placed the boots on and walked downstairs, heading into the kitchen.

Once there, Harry pulled out some eggs, some bread, and some bacon, and set to work cooking. By the time he was done, the house was in various stages of waking up, as he set the table. The French Toast was piled high, and the tray of scrambled eggs was placed there, enough for everyone, even with Ron's appetite. There was bacon in different states of crispiness, and he was in the process of placing the orange juice and setting the table with plates and utensils when everyone walked in.

And Blaise's mother stared in shock. Harry stood there, his hair pulled back and his eyes shimmering as he leaned against the counter, staring out the window while chewing on an orange slice. The table was set for them all, and when he saw them all enter, he smiled and then motioned to the table. They all sat down, Ms. Zabini leaving the spot next to her daughter open for Harry. He sat down and held her hand for a moment, before sitting back and watching as they all began to eat.

All of the girls commented on his cooking, while Ron just wolfed down everything he could reach. Ms. Zabini smirked at him. "He can cook, he has good friends, a good heart, and is pretty damned cute. Blaise, hold on to him." Blaise rolled her eyes at her mother while Harry chuckled. But Blaise would get her revenge.

"Was it just me, Hermione, or was my mother making eyes at Kyoto?" Ms. Zabini stuck her tongue out at Blaise, while Hermione laughed and nodded.

"She was! I swear, when he took his shirt off, I thought she was going to faint!"

"What! He was damned sexy. I mean, it's bad enough he has a body like that, but you have to see him fight. He moves so damned fast. Sue me, I'm a sucker for lithe men with long hair and unusual eyes. Seems like my daughter is too…"

"He was really good looking. The whole look was kind of cool. But you were right, with his hair back like that, he does kind of look feminine." Hermione said. Ron laughed at that, but Hermione continued. "And if anything, I think that made him look better, he wasn't all rough looking."

"Uh…you know…this is making me feel very weird being here right now." Ron stated before going back to eating for a moment. "Besides, I don't see too much special about that 'Kyoto' person, really. Sure, he had some muscles, but he still looked like someone with a bit of meat on their bones could take him."

Harry raised his eyebrow at Ron. "I figured you would be happy about anyone beating up on Snape. Besides, if anything, he is a lot stronger than he looks. You above everyone should know about people not always looking like they have the power they have. Do I look like I cast a Patronus as a third year that drove off about a hundred Dementors? Do I look like I survived a Killing Curse?" Ron seemed to want to sink back into his seat, but nodded at Harry in agreement despite it.

"So…what are you kids up to today?" Ms. Zabini asked.

"London. Going to quit, and then maybe heading to Diagon Alley or something like that."

"Could you swing by Borgin's and pick up that thing I ordered?" Ms. Zabini asked off-handedly as she speared some eggs on her fork.

"But…but…that's in Knockturn Alley!" Ron exclaimed.

"Uh…yeah. So."

"That's where Death Eaters hang out!" Ginny almost shouted. "Only dark wizards go there." Mrs. Zabini looked at Blaise and sighed.

"I'm not dark. Most people there aren't dark. That is just where the less than mainstream things are kept. What I wanted Blaise to pick up isn't exactly something you would pick up anywhere." Ms. Zabini answered.

-----

After the food was done, they all got up and the others all headed into a bathroom to get cleaned up and ready for the day. Harry sat on Blaise's bed as he got dressed. He asked Mrs. Zabini to alter his clothes because they didn't fit too well since he had grown some, and she did so, so he changed into a long-sleeved black t-shirt and some black, baggy jeans.

He pulled on his boots and rolled up the sleeves on the t-shirt to his elbows, and then he took the clasp down from his hair. He opened the front pocket on the backpack to put it in there, and found a pair of dark sunglasses. He put them on, and, with his hair down, he looked nothing like he normally did, especially with the muscles starting to show in his forearms, and some definition coming up in his biceps and triceps as well.

Looking in the mirror, Harry almost laughed at how much he looked like Kyoto. He was 6 inches shorter than the man, but he chuckled as he looked at how much he still resembled him despite the height and the hair color. He had the same general body type, and the style was spot-on.

Blaise commented on this as well as she came out of the bathroom after doing her hair. She dressed in a like style, saying it would be fun to do, wearing baggy black jeans as well as a tight black long-sleeved and some black shoes. She brushed her hair back, and then she grabbed a backpack she owned, hers sky blue, and put it on as she headed downstairs with him, as he adjusted his weighted white backpack. The girl clasped his hand, and he smiled before leaning down and kissing her, brushing his hand through her hair and then turning her and giving her a slap on her arse.

She narrowed her eyes as he turned to walk away, and grabbed a handful of his hair and she pulled him back and the pulled him down, kissing him deeply. And she let him go and started to run, and he caught her early and picked her up, placing her on the couch before getting on top of her and tickling her.

"Well aren't you two cute?" Hermione commented as she walked into the room. She was dressed in normal jeans and a t-shirt, and her hair was pulled back away from her face. She had a smile on her face, and seemed to be holding a personal CD player.

"Where are Ron and Ginny?" Harry asked.

"They are upstairs still. I sent Ginny in with instructions on what to let Ron wear and what not to allow him to wear, basic info on muggle clothing. I'm not helping him get dressed, that's for sure."

"What is up between you two? You seemed to be avoiding him." Harry asked her.

"Well, earlier this summer, he admitted to me, via owl, that he liked me. Not to my face or anything, but said he liked me, and had for like, 2 years. The issue there is, I don't like him. He is my friend, sure, but the arguing between us agitates me, but he just won't let me have my own opinion. Besides…I like someone else." Hermione said the end nervously, but smiled brightly.

"Yeah, and we all know who that is, don't we!" Ginny said, coming down the stairs not looking the happiest any of them had seen her. She had her eyes narrowed, and there was a flush across her face. Her red hair was contrasting oddly with the orange shirt she wore, and the white pants, and Harry found himself unable to really look at her for too long, as the swirling of red and orange was giving him a bit of a migraine.

"Ginny, now is not the time." Hermione said, almost pleading. Harry could see where this was going, not sure how he connected it so fast, but he did. And he shook his head.

"Ginny, stop. Now." It was a command, and there was no hiding it. And he didn't intend to. "It's not the time, the place, or any of your business." He didn't really feel like having Hermione's like for him put out in front of Blaise at that moment, as Ginny, with a lack of tact, would put the other girl in a bad situation because of jealousy.

"_Must be that Demonic brain power thing. I wouldn't have connected that before."_ Harry thought to himself, before shaking his head slowly to himself. He stood and pulled Blaise into a standing position, and stood behind her, his hands on her hips, and they stood, waiting for Ron. He came down moments later in jeans and a t-shirt, dressed nowhere near as bright as Ginny. Harry was thankful. Heading out of the front door, they found that they were in a good-sized area, personal property of the family.

There were a few other small houses scattered around, nowhere near the size of the manor, that Blaise told them the family owned, but no one stayed in. She said that she stayed in one of them sometimes, when she wanted to be alone, or just felt like it, and that she might head out to one of them when they got back.

-----

Heading down to the front gate, Blaise stuck her wand out and hailed the Knight Bus. They were taken into London, thankful that Blaise herself had remembered money for the fare, as no one else did. Once there, they walked a few blocks to the place Blaise worked. Heading in, Harry smiled at the few people he remembered from his visit there, and they all looked to the hand that Harry held in his own.

Blaise went to talk to the manager, and came out some time later, still smiling. The woman came out and smiled as Blaise walked up and stood before Harry, who wrapped his arms around her waist, and kissed her cheek before he dropped his hands and took hers in his own.

One of the women walked up to Harry and played around with his hair for a moment, pulling it back and moving it around. She smiled sweetly at him, and then turned and walked back to her chair. Harry recognized her as the lady that had done his hair the last time.

Leaving the shop, they all followed Blaise, who led then a few blocks and then down some stairs in the street. Getting onto the Underground, they rode the train and then got off at a stop, and after a few more blocks, they were in front of the Leaky Cauldron. Entering and going out to the back and into Diagon Alley, they headed to Gringott's. Harry got some gold out, before they left the bank and went to the bookstore. Hermione ran around, looking around for new things to read, and Harry looked through the aisles. As he made it to the front with a book on Demons, and a book on Pureblood family lines, Hermione stood there with a pile of books. Looking through it, he separated them.

"Most of these are crap, and the only one you will learn much from is the one on Abstract Abilities. That one was pretty good, however, the part on parseltongue was pretty wrong." Hermione was starring at him in complete shock. "What? I had some free time to do some reading over the summer. I was bored and I had a lot of books. I can give them to you when we get back to the house, and then you just have to return them to the Hogwarts library."

Hermione nodded, and then looked at his book. She smiled and reached up, ruffling his hair, which caused him to scowl darkly at her and readjust his hair. She looked taken aback, before he smiled at her, and winked before he placed his books down and purchased them.

Ron was getting antsy about being in the bookstore that long, and looksedin shock as Harry walked out with the books, and Hermione walked out with nothing, humming to herself as she walked. Heading over to Quality Quidditch Supply, Ron ran in, followed by Ginny and Blaise, who apparently had a like for the sport. She whispered this to Harry, before slipping her hand into his. "And I think it was because you were playing." She smiled at him as she ran ahead and entered. Hermione hung back, and looked to Harry as she saw him doing the same.

"Why aren't you going in?"

"The ban."

"I'm sure Professor Dumbledore can get it lifted! I don't think that he…"

"Truthfully, Hermione, I don't know if I want it to be lifted. Seriously, I don't think I have time for it. On top of that, if and when this Demon thing comes out, then all of my ability in the sport will be questioned. People thinking the only way I got there was because of the Demon thing. I mean, it's not like I care about being this way. If anything, it makes me feel even more like I have _someone_ to identify with. It lets me feel like I have some power over my life. But still…"

Hermione nodded, before smiling and grabbing his arm by the wrist and dragging him after her into the store. And as they entered, they ran headlong into Draco Malfoy.

Literally.

And the boy went sprawling on the floor as Hermione went tumbling back into the waiting arms of Harry. He stood her upright, and Draco scrambled up. He started toward Hermione, only for her to be placed behind Harry by the latter, who looked down on the blonde calmly from behind his sunglasses. And judging by the look on his face, he had no idea who it was that he was looking at.

Blaise showed up and stood next to Harry, and he took her hand unconsciously, and she squeezed his as Draco looked him up and down.

"And who are you?" He asked. He scoffed at Harry's appearance. "Probably some mudblood, to be hanging out with that know-it-all. The dirtiest of all mudbloods." And then he looked and saw Blaise. His eyes widened before he scowled. "So, perhaps not, but whoever you are, I commend you on cracking that damned icy façade she puts on. We all know that deep down, Zabini is a whore. But, good job regardless."

Harry pulled off his glasses and peered down at the boy before him. And before Draco could react, his mother appeared through the door, her long, regal pale hair fluttering behind her as her pale silver robes glistened. "Draco, do not make to speak as such about things which you know nothing about." She scolded. She looked to Blaise and smiled softly.

"Tell Jamie I said hello, please?" she said as she stroked Blaise's hair. The girl tensed as she stood there holding Harry's hand in her own. And Narcissa looked and caught Harry's eye. "Hello. Narcissa Malfoy. And you are?"

Harry looked from Narcissa to Draco. He seemed to have not gotten his height from his mother, as, as a coming 6th year, he was still barely pushing 5' 5", and she was a model-like 5' 9", putting her taller than everyone there but Harry. And reaching back and scratching his hand through the back of his hair, and then stretching for a moment, he took some time to answer the question. The look of outrage showed on Draco's face.

"My mother is asking you a question!"

"Hush, Draco." Narcissa was looking at Harry with a look of interest on her face. Few didn't bend to her will once she imposed it on them, and he was, for all purposes, ignoring her very existence. Narcissa had a gene in her that allowed the recessive ability of Veela charm to become something she could use, and yet he seemed to be ignoring it as she pressed him to answer.

"Me? I am who I am I assume." He said calmly as he stretched and then looked at her. "I believe we were never introduced the one time we did meet. You are Narcissa Malfoy. This is my girlfriend, Blaise Zabini, and my best friend Hermione Granger. And I am Harry Potter. Pleased to meet you." The silence in the room was enough to actually make it seem like time stopped.

"…Potter?" Draco muttered in confusion. But his mother was a whole different story.

"Harry Potter, you say. Well, I myself am pleased to make your acquaintance, and I apologize for young Draco here. However, if I understood you correctly, you said that you were dating young Miss Zabini?"

"Yes, I am. Is that a problem?" Harry challenged. She smirked softly.

"No. Not at all. It was my belief that houses should intermingle. Now, Mr. Potter, it is my wonder why we had yet to meet. Someone who provided such a healthy rivalry with my son, as well as the person who was responsible for eliminating an element of darkness on my family, and in my house, should have been a high priority on my list. I apologize."

Harry shrugged it off, and then they engaged in mindless conversation for a moment. But Draco was antsy. "Run along, Draco. Go about your errands, and I shall meet you at Forlean's within the hour." Draco looked to Harry one last time before turning and leaving the business. Once she was sure he was gone, she turned to Harry again. "Would you all like to accompany me to some ice cream?" She flashed a smile, and Harry nodded. Hermione said she would stay to walk with Ron and Ginny when the both were done, and Harry and Blaise headed out with the woman, and they soon found themselves at the establishment. Taking an outside seat, Narcissa looked to Harry.

"I know you must be confused, Harry. Confused about all of this, with me acting so calmly toward you, and the like. I assure you, there is no trick. Lucius and I were arranged to be married, and it was a marriage I did not care much for. He was a person I didn't care much for. And more importantly, darkness is something that I ran away from the Black family to escape. Not to run into an even darker of worlds.

"I understand if you do not believe me, but let me tell you something, Harry. We Blacks…we are not gods among people. And we are not demons, either." She seemed to stress the word "demon" for some reason. "What we are, are strategists. We get a belief, and we stick to it. Me, I believe that the dark will not win. I do not think that the 'Dark Lord' as he likes to lord himself around as, excuse the pun, will triumph. Nor do I trust Albus Dumbledore. I stick my faith solely in whatever side of this you place yourself. We, as a people, must stick together, the few of us left free on this earth."

There was something about the way she said this that made Harry narrow his eyes at her. "What do you mean 'we as a people'? We as wizards and witches?" Harry severely hoped that was the fact. But he saw her grin.

"We as…does she know?" Narcissa motioned to Blaise. Harry nodded. "Demons are few and far between, even the spawns of them are rare even now. And being a half-Demon such as you are, makes you the premiere Lord of Demons at the time. And until another Demon comes and takes the title, you will be the leader of battle, the person that we 'Partials' as we call ourselves at times, look to, to see who we ally ourselves with."

"We?"

"I am the Ambassador and Liaison to the Veelas for Wizarding Britain. I am part Veela through a bizarre choice of gambled genes, and they, along with the vampires, the werewolves, even the elves to some degree, have all waited for the person to come along that they will put their bid in with. And I think that will be you." And with that and a smile, she stood. "Until that time, young master Potter." And with that, she turned and left.

"What…"

"…The Hell…"

"…Was that?"

Blaise and Harry looked at each other, both driven speechless. He shrugged and took her hand, and they entered Knockturn Alley, heading to the designated shop, where Blaise entered while Harry stood outside of it, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and his glasses on, watching every person that walked by, ready to react should they make a wrong move.

Blaise came out, adjusting her backpack on her back. Harry took her hand again, and they headed out and back to the front, where Ron, Hermione and Ginny were waiting. "So, what now?" Ron asked.

"How about we head down to the recreation center that is near my house? It could be a good place to play around, and I can teach you all some more muggle sports. My mother sent me there for gymnastics, among other things, and I think you all might have some fun."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and they headed out, this time simply catching the Knight Bus directly back to the recreation center. Getting off and heading into the center, Blaise waved and smiled at the people near the door, and entering, they walked to the back, where there was a large field. There was a black top, and they all looked to see a shirtless man with long white braids hanging from the basketball rim by one arm and screaming. He dropped to the ground and got in another man's face and yelled. It was a taunting yell, before he turned around to run back to his team.

As soon as the other team took the ball out and one of the men began to run down the court dribbling the ball, there was a blur, and then Kyoto had the ball and was standing there, ball under his arm, looking at his opponents. "Hi." He stated simply, before giving them the ball back, seemingly, and then taking it again. He was playing around by then, and he finally took the ball, turned toward the hoop, shot the ball, and raised his hand in victory before the ball even made it in the hoop. It went in, and he jumped around, as they had apparently won. But as he jumped, he stopped, and turned.

Seeing Harry, he jogged over, smiling to the boy. "Hey, what's up?" He looked the boy over and broke into a huge smile. "Nice style. It suits you."

"Nothing. Blaise brought us all here, said she did some gymnastics here when she was younger."

"Yeah. I remember seeing the facilities on my way in here for the pick-up game. Let's go in there. There are weights near there, and I would like to see what you can…" He trailed off and looked up to the top of the building. There stood a man with long brown hair, and a crushing figure. He had a long quarterstaff, and was dressed in baggy sweat pants, with no shirt or shoes. His upper body had many scars on it, and a huge tattoo of a dragon on it. And clasped around his neck was a metallic choker of some sort, a deep yellow color, looking almost black, but having a tint of the bright color hidden in it.

"Fuck off." Kyoto said and turned back to Harry. "Run on in, I'll be there. This might take a bit of time." Kyoto was thankful that everyone had wandered back in as they saw the rain clouds forming in the sky and seeming on the verge of bursting. Less people in the way.

"I have come for my Key!" the figure stated. He then leapt down onto the awning, before sticking the staff onto the ground and flipping down using it. And landing, he lifted the staff into his hand, twirling it around in one hand, as he walked toward Kyoto.

"You shall not leave. You shall not run. I will kill you." And he stopped spinning the staff and pointed it at Kyoto. "Will you go silently? I would prefer that you not. I like it when my prey puts up a fight."

"Who are you?" Kyoto stated simply.

"I am Pain. But as is the custom, you may call me by such a name as…Norethfir." The figured seemed to be waiting for Kyoto to explain likewise.

"What, are you waiting for me to tell you the same? Fine. I am Darkness." And with that he dropped back into a kind of kick-boxing stance. It was not Muay-Thai styled, but closer to normal boxing stance.

The figure who called himself "Pain" dropped back into a leaning stance. His front leg was out, while he leaned back deeply on his other leg, where all his weight was placed. His staff was pointed toward Kyoto. And everyone stood still, and then jumping into the air, Norethfir swung his staff down toward where Kyoto had been.

Kyoto rolled forward, under the jump, and then kicked backwards, trying to get the staff-wielding figure in the back. His foot hit the staff, and then was pushed off. He rolled with the momentum from the push literally, and went from the forward roll into a forward flip and then a no handed flip with a twist, landing facing Norethfir. The large man was rushing him, and swung the staff like a bat, and as Kyoto came down from the flip over it, he took a shot to the side of the ribs, and then a slap to the side of the head.

As Kyoto was starting to fall to the side, he stuck his hand out on the ground, and brought his legs up from the ground, slamming one foot into the side of his opponent's head, and going for the other, but met air. Finding his legs back on the ground with his back to his enemy, Kyoto bent his knees, allowing the staff to pass over his head, and he did a back flip over Norethfir. He did a drop-kick to the man's back, who started to fall forward but placed the staff in front of him, and then kicked out, hitting Kyoto in the stomach as the white-haired man did another flip to land on his feet.

Kyoto started to fall back, did a quick flip using his hands as a base as Norethfir spun around with his staff and slapped it on the ground before bringing it back up, this time behind him as he crouched. And they ended up a good 10 feet away from each other, staring each other down. Kyoto's hands reached up and he took off his sunglasses and tossed them to the side. And looking to the person before him, he assessed the man with a clear view.

And the man's brown eyes met the other man's pure black eyes. And reaching up and tying his hair back with a hair tie, Kyoto cracked his back for a moment, before stretching his legs and jumping around a bit. He pulled off the shoes and walked over to his pile of things, and looked through. He dug through, and pulled out his pair of steel-toed boots. He put them on and strapped them on, and then walked calmly back out, whistling a song.

Norethfir had stretched as well, wrapping a thing strip of material across his forehead, which kept his hair from his face. However, taking his hair, he made a quick, long braid, and attached a weighted tie of some kind with heavy ball on the end. Then, from seemingly nowhere, he pulled out some dark chainmail gauntlets. As he pulled them on, Kyoto observed them.

"Obsidian?"

"Darksteel." Norethfir answered calmly, as he pulled them on and adjusted them to fit him perfectly, before he cracked his knuckles, and then his neck. "I am looking forward to a good fight, Darkness. I do not want to lose, but if I should, do keep my staff. You may find it of use. The world is a dark place, and even you may not survive using yourself as your only weapon. And if I must go, I am honored it is to one like you. One so much like me." And with that and a bow, which Kyoto returned, they both dropped back into new fighting stances.

"Round 2, eh?" Kyoto spoke, and then he was silent, adjusting the hat on his head and then flicking the braids from his shoulder to behind him.

-----

She had her scythes in one hand that was behind her back, while her other hand rapped lightly on the door before her. Slipping the scythes' into the back of her jeans, she shifter her weight to one hip, pulled her shoulders back, jabbing her chest out, and flicking her long hair back, so that her bare shoulders were exposed to whoever opened the door. It was an alluring sight, and the teenager who opened the door was caught in it as soon as he opened the door.

He peered over his hooked nose, and adjusted his rolled up sleeves some, giving her a glimpse of the tattoo on his forearm. He reached out with a lecherous grin on his face, and stroked her cheek before slipping her hair behind her ear. He seemed to be expecting someone that night, as he didn't ask who she was. That would be his last mistake. And with a wink and a licking of her lips, her hands shot back and latched onto one of the scythes and brought it across horizontally, and the man stared in shock. His voice catches, as drops of blood fall to the floor beneath him.

And with it, a clump of material.

"So, how does it feel to be castrated? Oh…darn. Seems like I missed a bit, and took a little too much off the top. Don't think you will miss it too much, at least hopefully not. Unless you intend to like, have sex with someone from the grave." And with that, she slammed the handle into the center of his forehead, before spinning and beheading him.

And walking into the house, she allowed her heels to click on the wooden floor. And with her voice melodic, she seemed to almost sing, "Kakaroff…oh Kakaroff...I have come for you…Are you ready to _DIE!" _She shouted it, her derangement clear in her voice, as it went from sing-song to deadly in milliseconds.

She did a no-handed cartwheel as a yellow curse shot by her, hitting the wall where she had once been. Landing, she did a no-handed back flip, and her feet landed on the wall behind her, and she pushed off from the wall, rolling onto the ground and against the wall before her. And she put her back to it and crept along the wall quickly, but quietly. And then she hugged her arms around her, the scythes peaking up from the back and looking like some kind of demented tiny wings on her, and then she pushed her arms out, as if it too effort, and spoke gently, "Slow." A literal ripple in the very fabric of that house in that part of the world passed through, and everything seemed to get heavier in some way, as if it was all sitting in water. Everything but her.

And with that, she turned and jammed her scythes, blade first, into the wall. And then, cracking her knuckles, she came around the corner and looked as the fear slowly spread across the man's face, as he found himself moving much slower than her. And with a hard right cross, followed by an uppercut, and then an axe-handled hand-over-fist slam to the back of the man's head, he dropped like a slow-moving rock. And putting her heel into the center of his back, she began to grind it in. The effect of Slow was wearing off, and suddenly, the man screamed like a feral animal and pushed himself into a standing position. Stumbling and then falling into a backwards roll, she reached up and yanked her scythes from the wall. And as he stood to attack her, he gasped.

The blades were stuck in him. Right between his shoulder blades and the sides of his pectorals. And she grinned as he dropped his wand and gargled as he tried to scream. "Where is your boss?" She had a sick look to her, as her hair flooded around her, and her eyes narrowed darkly at him, even as he grinned.

"I…I…I won't…" She gripped the handles harder and rotated her hands on the handles, grinding them deeply into his chest. He whimpered, but answered the same when she asked. So gripping harder, she started to slide the blades down, cutting through his chest muscles, and heading down until right above his ribs.

"Tell me…you know you want to…" Her voice was syrupy sweet, even as the blood dripped in small rivers onto the floor from the two wounds. He shook his head. "Yes…" he shook his head again. And she shrugged. And pulling the scythes down more, she hit even more veins and arteries, as she cut into his ribs, and slid down until right below his ribs. He bit his tongue, and his mouth began to bleed, but he shook his head sternly, even as he began to get weak. With one last smirk, she spoke again. "Thank you for making this all the more fun for me." And yanking both scythes down and out as they reached his waist on either side, she put the scythe in her right hand into her left, and balled her fist in concentration, and then placed her hand over his open mouth.

"Firaga."

And his body flooded with fire, and the cuts literally cauterized immediately as he was filled with flames. And she turned and left the house, smiling to herself. The blood was on her hands, and looking at it, she raised her hand up to sniff it, and then shook it off of her hands onto the ground, making a puddle. And pulling up saliva in her mouth, she spit on the pile, and in the general direction of the house. And twisting the scythes in her hands, she slipped them into the new holders she had made for them on the back of her waist. And with a turn, she walked off toward the forest. She encountered a river almost immediately, and cleaned her hands in it.

Looking into the water, she looked to herself, and sighed. "Dark bastards, the whole lot of them. Well, I guess it is as they say. 'Be careful, those who hunt monsters, lest you become a monster yourself', or however it goes. I feel myself slipping deeper and deeper as time goes on. I can handle being a monster. But I will not be the monster of Darkness. If I must be a monster, then I will be the monster of Revenge. And I will avenge my loss. That bastard's blood will be upon my blades. And I will drive them into his heart, and laugh as he paints the earth with his innards."

And she turned, her bright eyes flashing as she looked all around her, as with a cast of "Flare" almost as an after-thought, a blast of energy shot from her, and the house shook before it drooped and then shattered and fell in on itself. And as the place collapsed on itself, she trudged through the forest, a dark smirk on her face.

-----

Sitting in the middle of a Wizarding pub with a handgun in one hand, and a bottle of Smirnoff Vodka in the other hand, his gunmetal gray eyes stared were glassy as he drifted into the bottle he held.

"Hey sonny…" The bartended attempted to speak to him. He was ignored, and when he opened his mouth to speak again, the same happened. A man in staggered into the bar, and took a seat directly next to the man, something weird considering there was no one else at the bar on the stools. He seemed to be drunk already, and was slurring his words.

"Hey there…Mund…Mung…People call me Dung. Put'er'there." And he stuck out his hand, knocking down the shot glass he had just been given onto the floor, where it bounced along the ground. Baretta barely glanced out of the corner of his eyes, before he simply went back to his bottle, taking a long, deep drink from it, and taking it from his lips. No sigh as usual from taking a drink, no sign at all that the drink was alcoholic at all.

"What's your…pro'lem…mate?"

Dung found himself staring down the barrel of the handgun. The man still had yet to turn and look at him. He had little idea what this did, or why he should fear it. So he reached up and tried to push it away from his face. And with a blurring of motions, Dung found himself on the ground, unconscious, as the bottom of the handle of the gun hit the top of his head.

And looking to the other inhabitants of the bar, he laughed. "So, you all couldn't leave me alone. Nice to know. You can all drop the façade, I could sense you all when I got here, that's why I brought my own drink." And with a few shots from the handgun he pulled out, one that was different than the normal ones, the bottles of liquor poured out.

And taking one last long drink from his bottle of Smirnoff, he pulled off a strip from Dung's clothing with little to no effort, and slid it down into the neck of the bottle. And as he walked out of the store, he pulled out a bullet. And striking it against the wall to make a spark, he lit the strip of liquor-soaked cloth.

And with none of them knowing what a Molotov Cocktail was, they all stood there. And throwing the bottle behind the counter where the liquor had shattered, he walked away. And within moments, the flickering of fire was licking the outsides of the window, as the sound of disapparation sounded as everyone in the pub abandoned the place as the fire burned and spread all too quickly.

"Fucking Wizards. Can't do anything right. Almost as bad as those self-righteous bastard seraphim, always singing some dumb ass fucking song. Wish I had my guns back then."

And as he wandered off from the scene, he saw a man riding down the street on a motorcycle, trying to show off to some girls walking down the street, driving slow and screaming to them, hitting on them, and they did not look happy. Smiling, Baretta lowered the gun and fired one bullet, which exploded the man's front tire, and the bike seemed to flip in slow motion, and he went face first into the pavement, and came up spitting gutter water before falling back down, unconscious from the blow to the head he took.

The girl he had been hitting on locked eyes with Baretta from across the small street, and her friends looked moments later. He had put the gun away, and was walking over to them. He lifted the bike, and made a motion to the tire, and the girl fixed it, and for once Baretta was thankful he was in a Wizarding area. And lifting the motorcycle, he got on it. And he stalled for a moment, before the girl slid her hand along his leg, and then hiked her skirt up to climb on the bike behind him.

She leaned forward and licked his neck softly, before whispering directions to her place. She looked to her friends and mouthed "My Place" to them, and then Baretta gunned the motorcycle engine and shot off.

And the two girls giggled, before apparating to their friend's place and stripping down. Meanwhile, Baretta gunned the motorcycle engine and chuckled to himself. The girl was rubbing his thigh, and he could feel two pronounced pokes to his back. With a dark grin and a press on the gas to speed up to get to the destination faster, he thought about the night that was ahead of him.

"_Oh the joys of human sexuality. They just can't keep it in their pants. Halle-f'n-lujah._" He thought to himself, before popping a wheelie as they sped down the street.

-----


	9. Chapter 8

**FFOmega**

Part I: Bitter-Sweet Dreams

Chapter 8

Looking to his opponent as he bent down low, Kyoto showed a sinister grin. And with a whirling of the air around his feet, he was blasted forward toward Norethfir. And right before he got to his opponent, he put his hands down and used them to spring him right over the man. He landed and went for a backward-facing leg sweep. He looked over his shoulder as he met no resistance, to see the quarterstaff coming down at him at high speeds, as his opponent had leapt clear over his sweep.

Rolling to the side, he watched as the pavement cracked where the staff hit, and then rolled himself over to a handstand as, where his lower body had been, the staff made another hit. Cursing to himself, he pushed backwards from the handstand into a handspring and then a crouch, before leaping toward his opponent. He was met with the end of the staff in the chest. 7 quick hits slammed into both lungs all too quickly, and then a baseball-like swing met his upper chest, sending him falling backwards as his legs seemed to not be able to hold him up anymore.

Before he hit the ground, he was hit in the stomach, the power driving him to the ground faster than the forces of gravity alone. He then took a shot to the knee as he tried to sweep out, but this left his other leg, and he pushed with his hand and rolled into a one-handed cartwheel, and he hit Norethfir in the shoulder, which gave him a moment to recover and stand.

Lashing out with a roundhouse kick that was ducked, he bent his leg back before it even touched the ground and slammed his heel into Norethfir's temple. Then, following through, he jumped and spun around, laying his boot's sole into the figure's chest. As Norethfir stumbled, Kyoto leapt at him. He overshot the tackle and got behind Norethfir and grabbed him by the neck in a chokehold before kneeing him in the back and forcing him to bend back over his left knee, while he raised his right leg and brought his foot down to slam on the man's head. Norethfir moved just enough to survive the hit, instead taking it to his upper chest, which drove him into the ground.

As Kyoto went in for another stomp, he felt a sharp pain, and stopped, before whimpering and turning around, walking off for a moment before sinking too his knees, and finally falling to the ground, curled up into himself. Norethfir stood and walked toward Kyoto, and the man on the ground looked up, and there seemed to be tears in his eyes. He raised his hands and made a "T" shape with them. Then his hands went back to hiding between his legs.

"You bastard." He muttered, before lashing out fast with one leg, hitting just off from where he was aiming. He caught the man in the kneecap, and there was a pop as he dislocated his knee. And then rolling back, Kyoto limped for a short distance, putting space between him and what he assumed to be a downed opponent. "My bloody balls…the ass…that was just cheap…"

He groaned, before he undid the hair-tie that was holding his hair tight at the base of his head. His hair was coming out of the braids steadily from the bottom from all of the moving, and running his hands through the braids quickly, his hair that was visible from under the hat came undone, and fell in weird twists and curls around him. Adjusting the hat to be on backwards, he gave himself one more rub in the groin before turning to Norethfir.

And he looked in shock as his opponent bent down, as he was still standing, and with a push, he seemed to force the knee back into place. And with a dark grin, he grasped the staff, and seemed to push something on the handle, before tapping it on the ground. And from the top, 3 blades arose, making it look kind of like a trident, but the blades were closer, 1 from the top of the staff, while 2 came from the sides, matching up like a V to each other. And with a dark grin, Norethfir slid the top, longer blade down his arm, from the shoulder down to his elbow. Blood pooled on his skin, before streaming down and dripping on the floor. And with a euphoric look on his face, Norethfir closed his eyes and sighed.

"Masochism is generally looked down on. But I seem to think that, when you literally draw power from it, then that makes it alright. Add to the fact that your blood has special purposes, and I find it a good power to have." And with those words he dipped the blades into the blood that had fallen on the ground, and then with a smile, He leapt at Kyoto, the newly-formed pole-arm head high and back behind him over his head.

Doing a handless back flip, Kyoto caught the man under the chin, but not before the blade mad a thin cut along his leg. From the looks of it, the blade should have cut through his leg, but seemed rejected, like it had tried to cut through a rock or something.

But Kyoto stumbled and fell to one knee, his mouth clenched shut and tight. "Fuck!" He finally shouted, before standing up, and trying a roundhouse to the ribs before he ducked under the counter blow toward his face, before slamming his fist into the man's chin, sending him off his feet just a bit. That was enough time, and spinning a full circle and then some, he kicked back, and caught Norethfir in the stomach, before landing, and stumbling as he felt the pain grip the leg he had taken the slash to.

"Yes, Young Shadow, my blood is doing that to you. If it gets into you, it can cause more pain that many other known things in the world. There is only one thing I know of that causes more pain. Let's play with it. _Crucio!_" And he pointed the staff at Kyoto. The blast hit him, and he dropped down to a kneeling position as he felt the pain shake him. When it broke, he stumbled back and crawled back as he watched his opponent approach him. "Yes, I do have some conventional Wizarding magic. In this body, I have very little, I believe here they would label me just above those they call Squibs, but with this staff, and my knowledge from my last life as a Witch, I know the magic, and how it feels to use. Here, have another. _Crucio._" Kyoto rolled out of the way, just barely.

Squinting his eyes just so, he did a back somersault, rolling over himself from sitting on the ground to being on his feet. Punching out with a right, he followed it with a left cross and then his right hand delivered a right hook to the man's ribs. He kicked him in the side of the thigh, making the man fall to one knee. Grabbing him by the throat, he laid 5 punches directly to the face, before he pushed the man's face back and then slammed him with a vicious chop to the neck. Coughing, Norethfir spun away, his hair, and thus the weight on the end hitting Kyoto in the jawbone, causing him to spin away and bring a hand up to his cheek.

And bringing his bleeding arm up to his face, Norethfir sucked a mouthful of blood out of his arm, and as Kyoto came back to attack again, he spewed it into Kyoto's face. And Kyoto was hit with a blinding pain through his whole body, and his eyes seemed to not be working. And as he stumbled back, soon finding himself backed up against something hard, he heard laughing.

"_Ah…playing dirty. Catching one unawares. Thus are the defining factors of that which is pain. You should learn. Maybe in your next life you might learn something that may allow you to win at some point. But since I have yet to be beaten so far, I don't know if you will be coming back again any time soon. Since I don't plan on dying any time soon, maybe that will give you enough downtime to think about what you have done wrong."_

It was taunting, and soon Kyoto felt a shoulder drive him into the wall. And again and again he was slammed against the hard wall behind him. "Beg for mercy." Kyoto shook his head. "Do it." Again, he shook his head. He was not speaking for a reason. _"DO IT!"_ the other Demon shouted. Kyoto smirked. "Now!" and with a fast action, Norethfir found his eyes covered in Kyoto's saliva. And with a push, Kyoto got space between him and Norethfir, before he placed a hand on the man's shoulder, and the jumped up to put one foot on the wall behind him and then leap over Norethfir, so he landed behind the man. And then he slammed his shoulder into the man, driving him into the wall. And then he kicked. He was fighting blind, be he felt he was hitting home.

And again and again, he kicked. And finally, stepping back, he ran up the man's body, pinning him even further to the wall, before flipping back, and landing, he drove his shoulder into the man's face once more.

And stepping back, he calmed his breathing, to allow his hearing to hopefully pick up the movements of the man he was fighting, as he tied his hair up and back away from his face so that his ears were exposed and not cushioned from sound by his hair. Hearing the wind whistle, he jumped back just in time to feel the staff-end of the polearm whiz past him, right up the middle, and had he not moved, he would have taken another shot to the groin. "Ok man, what the FUCK is up with the ball shots? Seriously, if I survive this, I think I deserve the right to have kids. I mean, come on!"

There was laughter. "Just needed to make sure you were a guy. Seriously, looking at you, you kind of look like a girl. I needed to be sure that there was _something_ down there, otherwise you could seriously pass for a very flat-chested girl." And with a sick laugh, he heard, "If I didn't have to kill you to get my key, and therefore turn your body into dust…I would make some money off you, you little bitch. For that matter, you are fighting like a girl. I heard somewhere that you had a sister. If she looked anything like you, but had all the good girl parts, maybe when I kill you and bring her back, I will use her for that purpose. She can't be that powerful if you, in all of your weakness, could kill her, as I was told. For that matter…what kind of brother kills his own sister. You sick fuck."

And as Kyoto growled at this, the storm overhead broke. And with a crash of lightning, the water began to fall. And as the water flowed over him, the water washed through his eyes, and slowly vision returned to him. And as it did, Norethfir watched as his eyes narrowed, and he clicked his hands, cracking the bones in them with the other hand before doing his neck as well. And walking forward, something in his aura was radiating, and on his face was a deranged look. A psychotic smile. And reaching out to the momentarily paralyzed man, he ran a finger down the man's arm, collecting some of his blood. And then he placed it into his mouth, tasting it.

"Mmm…hurts so fucking good." He seemed to moan, before sighing. "Love the taste, kind of like alcohol. Burns on the way down, but just burns too good to be anything but my own little slice of Hell. Too fucking bad about the whole thing, though. Seeing as I am going to have to kill you, and all." The voice had changed. It was the same voice, but there was something there, as if it was intoned and echoed out, seeming like he was talking over himself.

"Who…who are you?"

"Well, you asked for me. You said, I believe, something about 'Little Shadow' to me a while back. Well, I'm here."

"I thought…Darkness…"

"Yeah. You see, that was the sane part, from what I understand. But then again, you can't expect even him to be that sane anymore, considering, collectively, I have seen over three-quarters of a century in different Loony Bins. Oh well." And seeing the confused look on Norethfir's face, "Shadow" sighed. "Hello. Nice to meet you, I am Shadow. I will be your executioner for today. Considering you did something bad enough to get Darkness pissed off enough for the blocks holding me into the back of his mind to fall, that therefore tells me you either deserve to die, or you were doing something very…_freaky_…to him. Seeing as I know that, as a male, Kyoto is straight if sexual at all, and as a female, he rarely does anything at all but die, I am doubting the second option. I bet you opened your mouth, said something about his sister perhaps?"

It wasn't a question.

"Haha. I am what humans would call a Split Personality. Always with him, like his shadow. The Shadow to Darkness, making me even darker than he could hope to be. I was made to allow him to deal with the repeated deaths he saw that would drive someone crazy. I find myself leaking more and more into him, until I assume we will both become one sometime. My job is to keep him alive this time long enough for it to happen, so I don't have to start all over. So don't look forward to coming back any time soon." And with those words, "Shadow" stopped his musings. "Payback time…" And with those words, Shadow brought his leg straight up, his foot connecting to the groin of his enemy. There was a crack as the bone seemed to fracture just so, and the man's eyes teared up.

Smiling to himself at the other man's pain, Shadow started to dance, doing a dance he had seen somewhere called the running-man before he pulled his arm back and hit a harsh uppercut to the man's chin, sending him into the air just to crash back down. "Talked about his sister, I bet. He isn't happy. Since you like pain so much, let us give you more of what you want." Shadow stated, before lifting Norethfir up by his shins and then slamming the man into the pole on the basketball hoop near him. Repeatedly until the pole bent, he slammed the fairly limp man's back into the pole. And then dropping him, Shadow raised his leg high, and stomped down, making a small crater in the cement, while shattering the man's left shin bone completely. He repeated the process with the right as well, before bending down and smiling hugely.

Norethfir seemed to be reaching for the pole-arm, which was just outside of his reach. "Oh no you don't…can't have you ruining my fun." Smiling, Shadow did the same process with the man's arms.

Looking up, Norethfir saw some differences between Kyoto, or "Darkness", and this Shadow. He looked less calm, almost so happily deranged that it almost seemed pained, and his features had less of a soft edge to them. His canine teeth were very pointed, almost into fangs, and the muscles and veins in Shadow's upper body were incredibly prominent, the veins poking out and rigid on the skin, while the muscle definition seemed to grow greatly from its already high amount of definition. Norethfir could almost swear he could see the man's heart beating.

And as Shadow raised his hand to seemingly preen his nails as he paced for a few moments, knowing his enemy was going nowhere, Norethfir saw something different about him. The white-fading-to-black fingernails that were short but sharp, and bordered on claws, were extended a good inch, and could be called full-blown claws. "It's just too bad that you pissed me off so very much. We could have been friends, you and I." Shadow spoke slowly, before he launched his hand incredibly fast at the man's chest. However, suddenly he stopped right before his hand would have plunged, claws first into the man's chest. And blinking, Shadow's body seemed to soften, and his nails shrunk, literally. He blinked several more times before looking at everything around him, as the rain fell.

"Dammit…" He muttered, before looking to the man laying on the ground before him, immobilized. Walking over, he picked up the pole-arm and returned to looking down at Norethfir. And as the latter looked up, he realized the man known to him as Darkness, Kyoto, was back. And with a look, he smiled gently. "Few can ever get _him_ out of me." He spit the word "him" like a curse, and Norethfir knew he was speaking of Shadow. "Sad to say we aren't that much different, me and him. Only issue is how much longer before the walls are all gone, and we become one person." And sighing, he spoke one last time to Norethfir. "It was a great, amazing fight. Thank you for it, I needed it. I needed to remember that I am not perfect, and can be hurt. I will remember your promise, and I shall keep hold of this wonderful piece of weaponry." And with a nod of deep respect, he rose it above his head, and then slammed the blade into and through the heart of his opponent.

Not his enemy,

A worthy opponent.

And pulling the weapon from the man's now lifeless body, he sighed. Because the man didn't possess Kyoto's key, the body would not turn to dust. He would have to dispose of the body. The soul was gone, and the glow from the body told him that the key that the man had held within his soul was gone and within him now. Taking the body and lifting it up, he remembered what the man's blood had been capable of. He smiled and then looked around, surveying everything. There was cracking in the cement walls of the Center where they had had their little battle over control of the other person, and the wall, and the basketball pole was bent to a near 45 degree angle.

Going to the pointed side, Kyoto raised his foot and gave it a good kick, and righted it the perfect amount. And turning, he gathered up his things and then the staff. He pushed the button the man had pressed, and tapped the ground with the staff, and the blades retracted. Then, holding it as he placed his things under his arm and the man's dead body over his shoulder, he crouched low and then leapt, disappearing from the area.

-----

Harry found Blaise in a room covered in blue mats on the floor, stretching. She was doing the splits at the time while sitting, and stretched her arms to touch her left foot, then gripping the bottom, she rocked and stretched more, before repeating the process with the other foot. She did some more ground stretching before she stood and bent down, holding one foot. And as she stood, still holding the foot and bent still, she pulled the leg up as well, all the while holding the foot, until she was standing and holding the foot she had grabbed, her leg straight up and to the side of her some.

Smiling, he whistled and cat-called. She turned to him, dropping her leg and staring at him. "What?"

"Nice to know you have that flexibility." He replied. She rolled her eyes at him before running over and leaping into his arms and wrapping her legs around his waist as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He caught her and kissed her deeply, before she dropped from his body.

"Good, you can help me stretch." And with that, she placed one of her legs on his shoulder, her heel sitting on his shoulder, as she bent forward and toward him, her other leg firmly planted on the ground. She smiled at his face, as he stood there flustered, not knowing what he was to do, before she dropped her leg, repeated with the other leg, and then dropped that leg and kissed him again. "That's enough for now. Ron went through that door," she pointed to a door to the side where there was the clanging of weights. "And Hermione took Ginny into one of the bathrooms so they could adjust their clothes to come out here and mess around as well."

"What are you doing?"

"Seeing if I still have it." She replied with a smirk, before walking away from him, and dropping her body back from a standing position into a bridge position, and going from there into a handstand. He was watching intently, as he had never seen anything like this, and his eyes met hers. And from this handstand, which was strong and unmoving, she tried to do what seemed like a vertical push-up, but shook for a moment and then fell back, landing on her back on the padding. "Dammit."

"What? Are you alright? What happened?" Harry asked this all very fast as he helped pull her to her feet.

"Nothing, just put on some weight since the last time I tried to do that, is all. I'm alright, that is what the padding is for." She smiled.

"Yeah, I bet I know where that weight went." He said cheekily, slapping her on her rear. She smiled despite herself, and with one last kiss, he headed off toward the door Ron was said to have gone through. He smiled to Hermione and Ginny, who he saw standing by the door he had come through to get into the padded room. Hermione smiled, but Ginny seemed less…happy about something. As he left, she scowled at his back, and then Blaise, before heading into the room, following as Hermione had gone in already.

Harry entered the room to find Ron sitting on a bench, doing curls with a barbell. Harry sat across from him and grabbed one as well, doing the same as his friend in silence until Ron spoke. "So…you and Blaise, then."

"Blaise, now? Not Zabini? You sure you want to be on friendly terms with a Slytherin?" Harry asked calmly.

Ron shrugged. He smiled to himself calmly before speaking again. "She is a fine specimen. Too bad school robes hide so much." He grinned to himself before speaking again. "Harry, what kind of man do you consider yourself. A chest man, or an arse man? Because Blaise seems to have both, to a nice degree, and I was wondering for reference."

"Uh…well…Blaise does have a nice ass, and I find myself touching it more often than I thought I would be touching anything on any girl outside of her lips for years. I'd say she has a nice chest, it isn't huge, like Lavender's, or damn near non-existent like Marietta's. I'm not sure."

"Yeah, she has what looks to be a perfect size considering you don't care for Lav's chest. A good handful, I'd say. I think her ass might be her best quality, and you seem to like it a lot."

Harry was looking at his friend for some time, before speaking again. "Uh…Ron…why are you asking about my taste in girls? And why do you care if I like breasts or ass better? And more than that, I am uncomfortable having a talk like this about my girlfriend, especially when the door is open and she is in the next room." He whispered the last sentence harshly, motioning to the door. Ron hopped up and closed the door, before heading back to his bench and then changing arms to curl with.

"Well, truth be told, Harry, there are two reasons. Ginny put me up to it. She wants to know what you like, and I think she was hoping for a definite answer that she wanted me to report. Personally, thinking…what was the word…analytically, I think she wants to know so she can know what part of her she wants to...acc…accent…show off to you, and what part to downplay. She wanted to know, from what I understand, as the reason she told me, because she thinks you and Blaise are a summer fling.

"She figures that you two will break up before school starts or early into the school year, as the 'pressures will be too great, with house rivalries, and she will want to go back to reporting to Malfoy on her hate for Harry' according to her. These are her words, not mine, mate, but she wants to be ready to rebound there for you. I know she is wrong, but she is my sister. Besides, I think I would like to know as well, just as guy talk. Also…well…just from you to me, I think you and Blaise are good together, she seems quite nice, oddly, and she looks great," Ron smiled slyly as he said this.

Harry smiled at his friend's admission, "Well, what about you, Ron? What do you like most about a woman, physically?"

"Well, I figure we are talking about body-wise, and with that, I would have to say chest. They say every man grows up to marry his own mother, in a way, saying that a man likes a woman like his mother. You have seen mum, so you understand, right?" Harry nodded. "Yeah, so I am waiting for school to start, so I can hopefully get myself in position to be able to sidle up close to Lavender, or even, if we had to go all out about inter-house coupling, and if anything to get the slack off of you, maybe I can get to Daphne Greengrass.

"She is a hot little piece, and from what I understand, her father spent a great deal of his own money in support of the research that is ongoing on the Unforgivables, as well as the campaign to keep Malfoy's dad in jail. So she may be catching a lot of flack about all of that." Looking to the door, Ron seemed to check to make sure it was closed before he leaned toward Harry and whispered so Harry could just hear, "Don't tell anyone, but I have been writing to her. Well, I have since yesterday, when I heard. She sent me something fast, and it seems like we might be able to work out a friendship."

"What, I thought there was something about you liking Hermione…"

"No, mate. The blow-up between her and Ginny was too big, I don't need something like that happening between her and I. We have finally been able to have some conversations without arguing since getting to the house, once I accepted she didn't like me. There was…someone else…" He looked warily at Harry.

"Me, right?"

Ron sighed. "Good, you know. Well, there was a blow-up, and she wasn't talking to any of us, and we weren't talking to her. But it was all resolved seeing you and Blaise. It was kinda…cute…never tell anyone I said that word, or you die. But, well, she and Ginny had to come together, sleeping in the same bed and all. They are alright with each other, being in the 'In Love With Harry Potter' club, and all. They are talking, I think more on Ginny's part because she needs girl talk, and she won't go to Blaise. Says she 'hates' her. I am doubting that, as I haven't really talked to Blaise, but I can't hate her, because I like her if nothing than because of the way she makes you act.

"You both seem happy together. Hermione, on the other hand, gets along great with Blaise from what I understand, leaving Ginny betrayed. But personally, I think you and Blaise match better than you and Ginny. Your parents were great, but I am pretty sure that having 'Lily and James part two' isn't something that anyone wants, especially you. Besides, I think you having kids with Blaise, if anything, would piss Snape off enough for me to give up having you be, legally, a part of the family, just to see. Besides, regardless of any law, you will always be part of this family, as long as mum, and especially I, have anything to say about it." Ron finished with a big smile.

Harry continued his reps, and they both worked out in relative silence for several minutes. Harry put down his barbell upon seeing Ron place the weight down and start to look for something to do. The boy was restless and bored, Harry could see that, and he was feeling similar. Going to the door, they opened it to see Blaise doing a short series of cartwheels and flips, as Hermione seemed to be coaching Ginny on how to do a proper 2-handed back-flip. Blaise stood and, seeing Harry, walked over and kissed him.

As he went to stand by the wall, she followed and stood in front of him, and his hands slid down to her hips, rubbing her thighs for a moment before coming to a neutral place around her waist. Harry was watching Ginny and Hermione as Ginny completed another of the flips, and then Hermione demonstrated a cartwheel to the girl, and they moved on to that, both laughing to themselves.

Suddenly he heard Blaise gasp, and he looked. The rain was pouring outside. He had come in and it was still fairly nice out, if nothing more than some clouds in the sky that seemed more likely to send the rain down later that night. He smiled and pulled her closer to him, kissing her temple. She grinned evilly, and looked to Ron, who was watching everything, going from looking outside the window, to Hermione and Ginny, to Harry and Blaise. She smirked at Ron, and made a motion for him to watch her, and then she began to grind her rear into Harry's waist, and along his legs. She reached back and wrapped her arms behind his neck, holding him slightly hunched so he was down to her level. She ground herself more and more into him, and just as he got over the initial shock, she stopped. And turning to him, she gave a chaste kiss to his lips, and then walked over toward the window, shaking her hips as she did. Ron laughed loudly at this, pointing at his friend and holding his stomach good-naturedly.

Growling to himself, Harry rushed behind her, tackling her lightly to the ground, and kissing her as he kneeled around her, not sitting on her at all, but her body on the mat, and him on his knees, a knee on either side of her. He then helped her up, or tried to, and fell victim to his own trick, the newly named by Blaise"Potter Pull." And he found himself on his back, as she had pulled him down and rolled on top of him. And reaching down, she began to tickle him.

And his laughter came out muffled as his breath caught from his half-scream as he fell, and to Ginny and Hermione, it almost sounded like cries of pain. Blaise stopped and sat up straight. His legs were bent and up, and she reclined back, her back on his legs, as she tickled him a bit more before laughing to herself. She reached down and grabbed a handful of his hair, taking control off his head, as she seemed about ready to kiss him.

And as Ginny looked over, apparently to her, it looked like Blaise had attacked Harry. And rushing over, she side-tackled Blaise, and in the scuffle that followed, she found herself under Blaise, and this was not a friendly straddle. Ginny reached up to scratch Blaise, and would have scratched her badly as well, had the girl not been wearing the long-sleeved shirt she wore.

Blaise seeing this, as well as having to pry away from the girl's grip as Ginny reached up and grabbed her hair, pulled back her fist, and laid a punch right to and across Ginny's face. Ginny's lip tore in the corner, and Blaise brought her other hand back and laid into the redhead again, this time hitting Ginny's eye and forcing the girl's head to the side. And pulling her left hand way back, in what promised to be another punch, she was lifted off of Ginny by Harry. He lifted Blaise up and off of Ginny. The girl, on instinct, turned and slammed her fist into the person who had grabbed her, and Harry took a hard hit to the cheek, one that started to bruise almost immediately. Blaise looked appalled at what she had done, and put her hand to her mouth, before stopping her fight and just allowing Harry to hold her to him.

Ron and Hermione had run over to help get Ginny up. She had seen Harry come and grab Blaise, and was ready for him to be there to hold her to comfort her for his psychotic, hopefully ex, girlfriend had attacked her when she had only been attempting to save him.

But what she saw was him holding her to his chest, as her legs and arms wrapped around him and she was crying, apologizing all the while. He ran his hands up and down her back, trying to soothe her, as she kissed his cheek over and over again. And when she moved from there and buried her face in his chest, crying her heart out in apology, they all saw a bruise forming on his face. Ginny scowled as he told Blaise it was alright and kissed her softly on the forehead before heading toward the door.

-----

Ms. James Zabini was home alone, and therefore was currently walking around in little more than a long t-shirt that she called her "nightshirt" and some fuzzy pink slippers. Her hair was pulled into a high style atop her head, somewhere between a ponytail and a bun, and messy as all hell. As she entered the study, having been checking the house for where all the heat was escaping to, she came to a stop.

There, sitting in the sill, his back against it, and one leg dangling off the side of the building on the outside, while the other was bent up with his arm resting on it, was Kyoto. She was glad that she had chosen incredibly large windows, as the man seemed to come and go a lot through the windows. It was a random and fleeting thought, as she looked to see the lifeless look to him. Even with empty black eyes, he still seemed a lot more lifeless than usual.

"Ma'am, I am sorry for intruding. But…I needed some help. I don't know where else to go, and if I go anywhere else, they will just lock me up again." James mouthed "again" to herself, before quieting her questioning mind as he continued. "I understand if its not something you are used to, dealing with Demons, but…can I tell you a story?" as he spoke, he never looked at her at all, just kept staring off into space, his head not even turned to face her. But she nodded, he seemed to know this. "We, 'The Locked' as they call us, are a lot like you humans, in a way. That is all we ever wanted. In a way. Well, not so much we, as much as them."

"Them?"

"I never wanted all of this. Me, I am only here because of my sister. I loved her with everything that was within me. If I had to, I would have killed everyone on this Earth and in Heaven to give her a chance to have a life as a human. Or to be returned to the place I feel that she always deserved to be, back in Heaven as an Angel. The Angel I always knew she was. But with all of this…I never wanted it. But maybe that is why I am so good at it. Because I haven't the human mindset everyone wanting to get Unlocked has.

"All of the Locked are fighting to be free. Because that is what they want so bad. They are mentally human already. They have all allowed themselves to steadily become more and more human. Can you think what would happen if a bunch of humans were say…locked inside a steadily shrinking room, and they had to kill everyone inside to get out, and to survive. If they didn't they would all die anyways, what do you think they would do? They would kill. But not without regret or thought." It was not a question. "But think about adding one Demon to that mix of humans. A Demon that, all it knew was killing, and wouldn't regret it much at all. Those humans would take a lot longer to kill each other off than it would take the Demon to destroy everyone else in that room. And he'd feel a lot less bad about it as well. That was me."

He sighed sadly. "I have been alive since the dawn of this planet, in many ways. This battle is one that has lasted as long as the existence of Hell, and doesn't look even close to ending. Everyone else has succeeded in using this to help them get unlocked. But Me…You know, I wonder some times when, exactly, I went insane. Millennia upon Millennia of watching death. I am a Demon to the deepest part of my being, and I used to go out, seeking fights, even when I didn't have to. I didn't respect life. And to some degree, I still don't. But sometimes I wish I could just kill myself and go back to Hell, where I belong. I don't want this anymore."

"What of your sister?" James asked.

"I killed her. Like a bastard, I killed her. I had to, we both knew it, but she is gone, my reason is gone, so I am madness without a method, and pointless destruction." He laughed to himself. "Want to know something funny?" Not waiting for her answer, he continued. James wasn't sure she wanted to know, as the man before her was in such a depression that she was sure that if he could kill himself, he would have. "I am known as Shadow. Well, not I so much as the other person who happens to live in my head."

James drew a deep breath. "Yes, I see you know of his…our work. Good. But let's recap, shall we? Shadow is the entity that my mind created in an attempt to find a means by which, to deal with the things I was seeing. An outlet to place all of the negative and maddening things and emotions I felt inside of me, and still be able to function as a normal person, to some extent, seeing as I'll never actually be 'normal.' This entity was little more than what some would call a conscience. Nothing more than a reminder, nerve and memory synapses firing, reminding the conscious of truths the brain collected.

"Only thing is, Demons are not humans. We do not have consciences. And this was not a 'good' conscience, as one would say. Humans call them the Angel on one shoulder, and the Demon on the other. Well, I had Satan himself in the back of my head, the Angel on the one shoulder had Fallen into a dark being, and the Demon on the other shoulder was me. I had...have no positives. But I repressed them. I repressed them until it got too much. I do not even know the time period, all I know is that, even after 793 years collectively within the last 2 thousand years of being locked up in some mental institution, 75 in the last century at the very least, the madness seeped out. And the only way to keep it in, was to not only give it a voice, but…"

"To give it life." James spoke slowly in realization. She was going to ask about the whole mind speech he had given, it was incredibly scientific-sounding, but after hearing how long he spent in various mental institutions, she realized he had probably heard it all again and again.

"Exactly. And from Darkness, Shadow was born. But…I don't know what to do, Ma'am. I don't know how to handle it all. I need guidance, or something."

Finally he turned to her, and there were red streaks running from his eyes. At some point, he had started crying, but she couldn't tell when, given the deepness of his eyes. "I killed a man today. I killed a man, because he wanted to kill me. And as I did, I lost myself. Shadow took over. And it wasn't until right before the killing blow was struck, I realized something."

He was silent for some time. And with a deep exhalation, he continued. "I am Shadow. As much as I deny it, this other personality…it isn't a different personality. It is just me. And I have been fooling myself into thinking that I am not evil. That I am not as sick a fuck as Shadow is. That I don't, in some sick way, get off on hurting other living things. Fooling myself into thinking I'm not completely unfit to be alive. But I am that sick. And I am that dark. And I apologize for being as I am, not to you so much as to the whole world, to your people, to everyone you will ever meet and every person you never will."

And wiping his face, he finished. "It's interesting to think that I have done such bad in my life. Maybe something I will find will be such a worthy cause as to let me make up for the people I have killed. Until then, and until the next time, take care of Harry for me? I shudder to say he reminds me a lot of myself, considering how I have turned out, but he reminds me a lot of who I used to be. And hopefully, by learning the things to do, he will be who I always wanted to be. I see my hopeful future, my dreams that have yet to come to pass, in someone oh-so-many years my junior. What has the world come to?" He chuckled weakly before saluting her.

"Take care of him?" he asked one last time.

"Take care of yourself, ok?" James answered. She nodded to him, and he nodded to her. Before he left, she crossed the room, and looked at him. She smiled weakly as she looked at him, thousands upon thousands of years of pain in one person. And leaning down, she pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Keep care of yourself. There are people who care about you, and I know you care about Harry. He is going to need you and your help." And with that, she ran her hand through his damp hair, before turning and leaving the room, hearing as the air "whooshed" as he leapt from the building and disappeared into the night.

-----

They all left the Center, Harry paid for them all on the Knight Bus, and Blaise stayed awake and conscious, as well as not crying just long enough to tell the driver where her house was. When they got to Blaise's house, Blaise was asleep. Harry carried her in his arms, and when they entered, Ginny ran upstairs, crying. Harry passed the room on the way to dropping Blaise into her bed, to find Ginny there, her things packed and by the door, and her laying in the bed, holding the pillow he had favored as he slept, to her face.

Ron came up to say goodbye, and Harry bid his friend a farewell with a good handshake which turned into a brotherly one-armed hug, and he wished his friend luck with Daphne. He in turn wished Harry luck and well wishes with Blaise, and apologized for his sister's behavior, on her behalf. Hermione came in and gave Harry a huge hug after sitting on the bed and looking at Blaise, and sticking the girl's hair behind her ear, musing about how innocent she looked like that. She asked Harry to tell Blaise goodbye for her, and then they were all gone, Ginny hadn't come in at all.

Harry sighed before looking at Blaise. The girl still had slight tear streaks on her cheeks, and with her eyes all puffy and red, it did make her look innocent. The freckles helped as well, and he smiled as he thought of them. Thankful that the shirt the girl wore was fairly baggy, he adjusted her so she was sitting up some, and then pulled it off and over her head. He undid the tie on her hair and ran his fingers through it, before he undid the button and the zipper on her pants as well and raised the covers before going to the end of the bed and pulling, successfully sliding the pants down without having to actually see the girl without her knowledge. He folded the clothing up and set it in a pile on top of his trunk, along with his shirt.

Climbing into the bed with her, he scooted close to her shivering body and held her to him. Rainy days always made him sleepy, and the current time was no exception. He was drifting soon, holding her to him, he kissed her softly on the forehead before he fell asleep. She unconsciously moved closer to him, and she seemed to almost purr for a moment before the movement in the room stopped outside of their slow, rhythmic breathing.

Ms. Zabini looked at them from the doorway, and sighed as she watched her daughter. When it rained, Blaise never slept well. Lightning, and thunder especially seemed to disturb her greatly. The silencing charms were also placed to keep the sound of thunder out, as it often woke her up, and caused the girl to shake. History kept the girl near paralyzed at the sight of the lightning flashes through her windows, and she usually sat up, awake and shivering, not moving outside of her shaking, whenever there were storms such as those.

It was nice to see her daughter sleeping so well. Hermione had filled in the older woman on what had happened during the day, and she sighed gently as she looked at the light bruising on Harry's face. Blaise would never let him live it down, and would apologize for as long as it stayed there. But even with that being the fact, James loved seeing her daughter so happy.

With one last look at them, she turned to leave the room. There was the flash of lightning, and the sound of thunder in the distance. Blaise stirred in her sleep, but when Harry unconsciously pulled her closer to him and nuzzled into her neck, his arm draped over her as he pulled her back more into his chest, she drifted back to sleep. Ms. Zabini sighed contently as she looked at her daughter and the young man she was getting more and more respect for all the time.

-----


	10. Chapter 9

**FFOmega**

Part I: Bitter-Sweet Dreams

Chapter 9

Blaise's birthday was fast approaching, but she did not seem too excited about it. She was still exceedingly guilty about hitting Harry. When they woke up the next morning, she had made it a point to kiss him as often as possible, either on the cheek or on the lips, while apologizing and touching the faintly bruised skin softly.

Harry cooked breakfast again, but this time Blaise was there, helping some as he made omelets, and Blaise's mother came in some time later, still in her nightshirt and slippers. The shirt came down to just above her knees, and her hair had come down at some point, and even still, Harry kept having to remind himself that that was his girlfriend's mother. She was beautiful in an understated way, a bit more earthy than Blaise, but they had the same body type from what he could tell, and looked a lot more like sisters.

"Making eyes at my mother, Potter?" Blaise asked, seeming serious.

"Who knows." He muttered, and Blaise locked eyes with her mother and raised an eyebrow. Her mother, for the most part, smiled softly, trying to get her hair into some hasty style, while not really paying too much attention, as her mind was stuck on the white-haired figure who she had spoken to the previous day. Even unable to read his eyes, he had looked so forlorn, so lost. Like a traveler that had wandered so much that he forgot where he had come from, and now wandered for no other reason than he knew nothing else. He killed because that was all he knew. She was broken out of looking at how much Harry had begun to look like Kyoto, when she was called.

"Ms. Zabini…" Harry seemed to have something to say to her.

"Jamie."

"Huh?" He looked at her in confusion.

"If you have to call me anything, then you should call me Jamie. I won't have you going around here calling me 'Missus' or 'Miss' anything. I am no longer married, and if anyone has the right to call me something different, it is you."

"Uh…ok…Jamie. What would you like in your omelet?" He questioned her unsurely. She smiled before standing and walked toward him. "You two go, I will finish up making breakfast, and then I will just bring it up to Blaise's room. You two stay up there." And with that she started work. When Harry didn't move immediately, she bumped him with her hip, and he stumbled a bit, before taking the hint, as she threw him a smile over her shoulder, and he went up the stairs.

Blaise was sitting on the bed, looking at the door as if waiting for him to come in. She motioned for him to close the door, before falling back and laughing. He stared at her, as he leaned against the closed door, gripped by complete confusion. "Blaise, what is so funny?"

"I can't believe you are starting to get a crush on my mum. That is…funny in a very weird kind of way." She finished speaking and stopped laughing, before leaning back in her seated position on the bed, putting all of her weight on her arms, and then she raised one arm and a single finger from her hand, and curled it, beckoning him to her. He walked toward her with a smile at her sexy look, and she parted her knees, and he was soon held to her by her legs being wrapped around him, and she took his collar in her hand and pulled him down to kiss her. And before long, he was laying atop her, both caught up in their kissing.

Suddenly, they stopped. Blaise had pulled back from the kissing, and was looking at him. "What? Is something wrong?"

"Harry." It was a statement. And then she smiled weakly, before adopting this unsure look he had rarely seen on her face. "Harry, I know you don't know what love is…you shouldn't. And I don't know much either. My mother, Merlin do I care for her, has to psychoanalyze love before she can believe it, and I grew up like that. But I realized with you…love isn't able to be analyzed and broken down. Because it doesn't make any sense at all. And I know you don't know love, and I knew little about it…but I'm willing to learn with you…if you'll let me." It was a question. It wasn't phrased as one, but he knew a question when he heard it. She was asking his permission to be in love with him.

Harry looked at her, her eyes that were a mahogany color that had the deepest glow of maroon somewhere if the light caught them right, and her light colored hair. The splattering of pale brown freckles across her nose and cheeks, just enough to be cute to him. And her lips that he loved to lose himself in, lose himself in the comfort they provided. Hide behind the shield that was her caring about him, hide there from the attacks of the world.

"Blaise…if you will let me…might I learn along with you? Will you let me learn, through you…no, not through, with. Will you let me be with you, Blaise?"

Blaise looked into his eyes deeply, tears shimmering in her eyes. "Merlin I didn't want to be one of those cliché girls who gives up her virginity to the first guy she loves and who says they love her back, but…I don't know, it feels right. Besides…I don't know. I can feel it. You might not know what love is, but I can feel your heart. I can feel it in my own heart that the piece of my heart I gave to you was replaced with the part you gave me. And I thank you for that."

And tears fell from her eyes, and it took Harry a moment to realize that he was tearing up as well. She opened her mouth to say something again, and he smirked at her. "Too much talking, not enough snogging." And he leaned down and kissed away her tears, before he started down to her neck, and attached himself to the spot on her neck that made her lose all control over her ability to speak.

After pulling back, she was allowed to speak again. "I was going to say, I am not giving it up on my birthday, or yours, that seems kind of…wrong. So…how about we just go from here, and see if we get stopped, and if we don't, then it was meant to happen." Blaise smiled before pulling off the shirt she had been wearing, another of Harry's. She slipped down the short little sweat shorts she had been wearing as well, before stripping Harry of his black sweatpants.

And as he leaned down to kiss her once more before they both disappeared under the blankets, He showed a great smile, and then gave her a tickling along her ribs, just to break the tension of the situation.

-----

Blaise left the bed still a virgin, but not for lack of opportunity. Blaise's mother did not come up to the room. Minerva had taught her a charm that, when placed on a closed door, would tell whether it was alright to enter a room, based on the decency as well as the pulse rate of the people in the area in question. It told her to head back downstairs and leave the two in the room to their own.

There was a lot of exploring of the other person's body under the covers of the girl's room. And they both came out enlightened on how the opposite sex operated. Still sweaty regardless, and not very shy about their bodies anymore, they headed into the bathroom. Filling the tub again, and foregoing the bubbles this time, they both got in and washed up before draining the water and filling it again, this time to just relax in. Harry found Blaise wrapped in his arms, her sitting on his lap.

There was little to no embarrassment when her constant teasing caused a reaction, instead he threw her into the water, her head going under and everything. He pulled her out, laughing as her hair, which she had taken great attention to making sure stayed dry was soaked, and then took to attacking her collarbone with his mouth, causing her to moan and eventually just wither completely and sink against him. All the while as he did this, he told her how much he cared about her, and muttering other such affectionate words and terms, and he laughed at her plight, as she was put into such a state.

"You win. Now either stop or bad things will come of this." Harry grinned and continued for a moment, just to see what she would do. And she looked into his eyes from her heavy-lidded ones, and then she seemed to rise up a bit. "I love you." Were her only words, before suddenly she dropped down again.

And with a wince, he stared at her, as her body joined with his in more ways than one. And it took him until she smiled at his completely shocked face to realize something.

Blaise was giving him her virginity.

And leaning in to her, kissing her deeply, and then down to the neck before back to her lips, he caught her eyes. "Blaise…These words didn't mean much to me before, but…well…now I am starting to value them. And…I'm not sure…but I think I love you."

-----

Jamie sat on the couch when her daughter bounced down and up to her. And looking up to the girl who was often mistaken for her younger sister, she saw it immediately. And had a reaction few mothers have when they realize their daughters have just lost their virginity in their house while they were there. She smiled.

"I am happy for you, baby." She said sweetly, before going back to her book. "Where is Harry?"

"I broke him." Blaise said with a serious face. Jamie stared at her for a moment before her jaw fell.

"Sweet Merlin, really? Dear me, that's…I have nothing to say about that. I don't know what to say…" What she didn't realize was, what she thought was a comment she made to herself in her own mind, which was: _I hope Kyoto doesn't break…bet he's a demon in the sack._ Upon "thinking" this, she chuckled to herself. Only issue was, her chuckle came out verbally, as did the sentence that lead to it. Blaise chose to ignore this new development, smirking to herself at that information. "So, did you really break him?" Her mother finally asked.

Blaise started laughing. "No, he is upstairs reading a book about Demons. I figured I would come down here and talk to you. How do you feel about Harry and me?"

Jamie smiled at her daughter, as she took out her wand and aimed it at her daughter, muttering some more words and a glow shot from the wand and surrounded her daughter and then seemed to focus on her stomach down to her pelvis. And with a smile, she put the wand away. "Well, I think he is an amazing person, especially for you. Hell, I might hit on him if you two break up." Here Jamie winked at her daughter.

"That's a lie. You know that you are after Kyoto." Jamie blushed and smiled, before shrugging with a lost look in her eyes. "Besides, I am never letting him go. I have sunk my claws into him, and until he gets tired of me, or one of us dies, we are stuck with each other. And there is a way to do something about both of those. If he wants me gone, then I will just have to change his mind. And if I die, I will just follow him until he dies, and if he goes, I'm following."

Jamie smiled. "You do love him, baby. Even though that does sound slightly…stalkerish." Jamie smiled at her daughter. "You psycho-woman, you!"

-----

Harry was sitting there, reading through the book on Demons. He was shocked to find out that many modern "Magical Beasts" had roots in Demons somewhere. Vampires came from a Fallen Angel named Opacus, who apparently had fallen in love with a Human that had a series of diseases. These were passed down, giving the vampires the "curse" aspect of their gifts. Meaning, someone who was the spawn of a Fallen Angel that wasn't of the line of Opacus, could theoretically have all of a vampires powers, even to higher degrees than the creatures themselves, only without all of the detriments.

Werewolves had a likewise issue, except they came from Demons. This explained why they and vampires didn't get along well. It was taking the hate between Demons and Angels to a different set of groups, but the same natural hate. Veelas came from Demons, as did several animals he did not know of.

Setting the book down and closing it, Harry laid back, staring up at the ceiling. He was in the "Nest" and he was thankful for its surrounding of him, as he himself was feeling very conflicting, and needed time to work it all out. He was eternally grateful for Blaise thinking he deserved the gift she had given him, but it conflicted with everything he thought about sex. She was gentle and they had gone on for a long time, him held by her in many different ways. Her arms held him to her, her lips held his captive in their perfection, and she held him within her, and he felt like he was part of her, and her a part of him. He felt whole.

But with Bellatrix, it had been different. It had been rough and hard and had nothing to do with him. It was all about her, and he had felt pain and little pleasure. With Blaise, it was about both of them, not one more than the other. And he felt no pain, and knew he meant something to Blaise.

Smiling to himself, he stood. He stretched some, before rubbing his upper back, near his shoulders. It kind of burned. Heading over to the mirror, he looked and saw 8 long, thin welts on his back, 4 over each shoulder. They were scratches, and he mused about how he could have forgotten when Blaise had insisted that he put her against her wall after they had abandoned the bathtub, and she had given him the 8 marks on his back.

Scratching his leg, he winced as he felt pain. He looked and saw sharp scratch marks there now, the denim on his pants barely holding up to it. He looked to his hand, and looked at his nails, which seemed to be coming to a thinner, sharper tip on their own. He raised an eyebrow, before filing it away as something to ask Kyoto when he next saw him and then heading to the stairs. He was bored, and he wanted something to do.

As he headed down the stairs, he began whistling to himself. His eyes flashed a dark color, and his shadow contorted under him, spinning in a full circle beneath him, regardless of the light in the area.

Deep in the back of his head, he felt a tapping. Almost like knocking, like someone knocking at a door, asking permission to enter. One would not think diagnosed Multiple Personality Disorder would be considered an ability, or a power. Which was why Kyoto probably figured that it would not be passed down. But it was.

And it is possible that sometimes the greatest weakness is the strongest strength. Even Demons have demons within them. And sometimes when those are unleashed, it is a force few if anyone can stand up to.

-----

She laid on the floor of the room. It was within the dungeons, but not one of the cells, instead the old Potions Master's quarters, as he was more of a recluse than even the current one. Just because she was in a room, didn't mean that they had to give her a bed.

Why had she done it?

It was in no way hard to figure out, truthfully. Having a baby was basically an immediate exit to the service, at least until the child was 11 and went off to school. And something few knew about her, was that she wanted out. She wanted out very badly. And by having the child in the way that she had conceived it, not only would she fall under _his_ protection, as she held his child within her, but she was also able to forfeit all claims that Rodolphous had on her before his…untimely death.

Meaning, she could get out of the whole Death Eater corps. She had never wanted to join in the first place. It was a stipulation in the marriage contract that she join, and from there, there was nothing she could do.

And looking at the wall, wondering why Harry had protected her, she sighed to herself, rubbing her stomach softly. She just hoped she would get to be able to talk to him soon. She needed to explain it to him. However, her frame of mind was cut off as the Mark burned on her arm. It hurt more and more the longer she was locked in there, and she hoped it would not kill her before she had the child. She wished for something sharp enough to remove her arm, if nothing more than to cease the pain.

And with a jangling of the door, the door opened to reveal the current Potions Master in the doorway. He was holding his own mark, and grimacing. "Come on, better to get it over with before it kills you. Not that that would be a bad thing, if nothing more than to limit the breeding of Potter to one woman in the world and not two. All I would need is more of them."

"Two?"

"Yes. He had hooked up with the Zabini girl." Bellatrix's face went slack as her jaw dropped. She raised an eyebrow before smiling.

"The boy has an attraction to trouble and danger. But if anyone can handle being in that family better than old Nathaniel did, it would be him. He couldn't handle having his wife fully able to kick his ass. Let's see how Harry reacts when he realizes he has a girl there that has been trained to do something not so respectable in his light-sided mind."

"Harry?" Snape raised an eyebrow at the woman's use of his first name, but let it go. "Besides, he isn't as light-minded as one would like to think. And a secret between us that you _must_ put behind the Occulmency shields. Harry is a Half Demon now. And he has a full Demon, one of the Locked, as a bodyguard…_AND_ a Fallen Angel as another. He is looking like he is the Miracle Child we all thought him as a younger boy. And it may not have been all luck."

Bellatrix was silent at this news. She knew the rarity and the power the two figures individually held. Someone being able to get a Demon together with an Angel, albeit a Fallen, to protect him, either had an absurd amount of luck, had some killer connections, or was one powerful person, either in application or potential. She couldn't figure out which it was from Harry. Not for the life of her. But there was something else she couldn't figure out at the time. "Why did he do it, Severus? Why didn't he let them kill me?" She asked, almost begged in confusion.

"I have no idea. None at all. Now come along, so we can get you there and then get you back as soon as we can." And Bellatrix stood and walked from the door on shaky legs.

-----

The castle was relatively quiet at that point in time, as the long white-haired man stood before the doors. In the doorway, stood a fairly attractive Asian girl, with long hair and a curvy figure. She wore a badge of some kind, and looked no older that 17.

"Hello, may I help you with something?" She asked, her voice shaky. The man in front of her shrugged and made to step to the threshold of the door, and she moved out of the way so he could enter. She observed him. His shirt was ripped to shreds, and he was carrying a collection of metallic bands and a key ring in one hand. His eyes were covered by black sunglasses, and he had dried blood covering him. In his other hand he held, well dragged, rather, a long staff, and he looked none the better for wear.

"Are…are you ok?" She stammered.

"Fine. Just fine." He answered, and then smiled shakily. "Hello, and you are?"

"Me? Oh! I'm Cho Chang. I apologize for the delayed introduction. Incoming Head Girl for this year. How may I help you?"

"Well, I suppose you could help me get in contact with Ms. Zabini. It is kind of important that I speak to her." Cho nodded resolutely, and then lead him to one of the fireplaces, which were connected to the Floo Network of students' homes. She fire-called the house, and it was answered by the woman. Kyoto smiled solemnly as her eyes shot open seeing his condition.

"Kyoto…what happened!" She near shouted.

He laughed weakly. "You should see the other guy."

"What does he look like? He couldn't have gotten any worse that you did." Jamie spoke.

"He's dead." Kyoto answered blandly and monotone.

There was silence, and then Cho laughed nervously. She obviously thought it was a joke. Jamie raised an eyebrow and he shrugged, and then showed her his arms. There were no lock-guards on them anywhere. "I think…is there a way I can get there fast? I really don't feel like running." He asked, as he ruffled through his pockets.

"Yeah, there is the Floo Network. Here, take some of this powder and throw it in there and say Zabini residence, and then you should be there, I suppose." Cho said. Jamie's connection was cut off before she could protest, so Kyoto threw the powder in and did as told, and the green fire flared up, before it turned black and then the fire simply died. They tried a few more times, before Kyoto asked if she could just get in and go with him, as it apparently worked for her.

When they arrived, she was muttering, "It is almost foolproof. It works for every human. As long as there is a person there, it works."

And as he stepped from the fireplace, getting rid of this shirt he wore, which was in shreds at the time, he told her over his shoulder, "Who said I was human?" And she watched as one large cut on his back seemed to be healing before her eyes. And as he walked into the room, Jamie showed up, with a small cauldron of some kind of liquid, and a wash towel. She looked at him, covered in blood, but the open cuts were pretty much gone. His things were sitting in a neat pile near the fireplace where he had left them.

Cho was standing there looking at them all in confusion. Jamie beckoned her in and to a seat on the couch, telling her she could stay for tea. Shrugging and heading into the kitchen to make the tea, Kyoto spoke. "I'm gonna run up and steal one of the kid's shirts, and then I'll be back." Jamie nodded, and Kyoto took the stairs 2 at a time. When Jamie came back, Cho was sitting in clear confusion.

"You have a son?"

"No."

"Then, unless he intends to wear your daughter's shirts, what is he talking about?"

However, the conversation was interrupted by the shout of "Give that back!" and then the trample of feet, and Kyoto shot down the stairs, followed by another male form. They stood there next to Jamie, and the man with the green eyes crossed his arm in clear displeasure.

"She said I could borrow a shirt!" Kyoto shouted, and held up a black tank top.

"But not the one off my back, you jackass!" Was the reply, but it was filled with humor. "Come on, Jamie…" he seemed to whine, before dropping his arms and shrugging. "Whatever. Not like I care about it, so take it."

Cho was watching this exchange with no small amount of confusion. However, that only grew as a girl she recognized as Blaise Zabini came down. She wrapped her arms around the green-eyes figure, and pulled him down and kissed him. It seemed like the room had missed Cho's presence. However, it was remembered as soon as Blaise stopped the kiss. She stood in front of whoever it was she had just kissed after commenting to him that the hair had tickled her face.

"Chan…Cho? What are you doing here?" Blaise asked, and then looked to the man behind her. He had stopped in the process of tying his hair back, and looked up. He caught eyes with Cho, and she was sure that she didn't know him, but stopped when she saw that he was holding the top of his hair back still, and there, on his forehead, was a very faint outline of the lightning-bolt shaped scar.

"Harry!" She looked him up and down, and cursed herself more and more for breaking up with him like she did.

"Uh…I feel left out of this reunion." Kyoto spoke.

Harry flipped him off, a hand sign he had gotten from the man himself, and then he sighed. "Kyoto, this is Cho."

"I know who she is. How do you know her? And why does it seem like the world has shut down by her coming here?"

"She's his ex." Blaise commented, with a bit of venom in her voice.

"Oh! The awkwardness of the situation. Its amazing! Teenage drama at its best, the current and the ex. It's like a movie. A comedy. A tragedy. A teen date movie! I love it!" Kyoto shouted, before stopping anticlimactically and stretching. All the bones in his back seemed to pop, and he laughed before looking to Cho. "So…isn't it about time you got back to the castle and the old man?" He smiled at her a bit before ushering her through the fireplace, and then he turned around and looked at them.

"Hmm…what an impression to give the girl. Kid, you know you are in shorts and nothing else, and the girl is currently in a bra and a pair of boxer shorts. This could get around your school."

Harry looked at Blaise, and then at Kyoto again, and then at Blaise once more. He shrugged. "Who cares." And with that he picked Blaise up in a fireman's carry position and took her up the stairs. As they heard the door slam shut, Kyoto sighed.

"It's cute. For like a few seconds. But then it's just all mushy and shit." He looked down at himself, and sighed. "Why did the bastard with my Key have to teach swordsmanship? And be a certified sword master? And carry 5 weapons with him at all times? All but when I found him. And that would be in his workshop, surrounded by swords. This is some bullshit." He muttered. "Do you have a sink or something I can wash up in, and then I can be on my way."

"No, but I do have a shower you can use on the condition that you take a spare bedroom and get some sleep."

"But ma…I don't wanna…" He whined, but shrugged and followed her.

-----

The one day stay turned into him being there for many days. And it seemed to give Jamie something to do. It had taken all of those days to get him to call her by her name, instead of "Ma'am" or "Ms. Zabini." It had taken her reminding him, repeatedly, that she was a lot younger than him to get him to call her by her given name. He had acquiesced when, every time he called her "Ma'am," she started calling him "Grandpa," and even, upon finding out about several of his rebirths as a female, "Grandma."

As she woke up, Blaise was all smiles, realizing that it was her birthday. She found Harry sitting at her desk, looking over a book and leaning over a bowl of some kind. He stiffened as if he knew when she awoke, and turned to her after he closed the book. He walked over and gave her a kiss and a "happy birthday" before going back to his things. He had the bowl in front of him, and set it down on the bedside table, and pulled out a small pin. He looked very down, but said softly. "Blaise…can I…do you trust me?"

"With my life." She answered immediately.

Sighing, he smiled softly at her. "Uh…can I have a few drops of your blood?"

She saw how torn up he was over this, so she snatched the pin from his hand and poked her finger, and he put the bowl in front of her. She allowed the drops to fall into the bowl, which was filled with a dark liquid that had silver swirls running through it. Once she was done, he placed some tissue in her hand, whispered a "sorry" and put a lid on the bowl and ran out of the room. As he had disappeared, the top of the bowl had been glowing.

Running into the room Kyoto had been using, they both sat down on the floor after closing the door, and Harry removed the top. And sitting in the center of the bowl, was a deep-colored liquid, with swirling silver and gold in it. Kyoto smiled and then spoke.

"In order to do this, you have to draw energy from your body. It isn't necessarily magic, because it doesn't really create, it substitutes. The science is called Alchemy, and the basic rule is that, in order to create something, you must give something up of same amount. I think I saw some cartoon about this somewhere once, you want the basics, I'll rent it for you or something. Well...maybe set you up with an account, I don't think I ever returned the last movies I rented. What do you think the late fees would be on a movie being gond for almost 10 years?" Harry stared at him. "_Anywho, _skip the theory, just feel it. Pull the energy into you, the power that you want to use, the feeling you intend to use to change this into what you want it to be for her, and then press that from your hands into the ground."

Harry's eyes were closed as he was listening to this. And he began looking for power on how to change the liquid in front of him. He thought of how he felt for Blaise, and how he wanted her to have this, how it had stood out when he had read about it. And how he longed to see the happiness on her face.

And around his hands, a spiraling black energy whirled around his hands, and then there was a break in him, as the black energy flared up and wisps of sky blue seemed to float through it. And then his hands slammed onto the ground, and the energy flared through the circle drawn around the bowl on the floor with ground-up white chalk. And the bowl flared, and then the light died down. And sitting in the bowl, was something neither of them had ever seen before.

"Shit, kid. I can't believe you just did that." Kyoto commented, before he motioned for Harry to pick the bowl up, and gently they placed the bowl on the desk in the room, and they got to work on the object in the center.

-----

Blaise's party was going amazingly half-way through. They had eaten already, and had done some embarrassing but funny toasts, especially Jamie, who had thought it fun to begin a bit of a roast on her daughter, and soon everyone was giving their most embarrassing moment. Harry stood up to tell one, but the look she gave him made him say little more than "happy birthday Gaby" and then sit down. Jamie had coughed after that that sounded oddly like "whipped" but she wouldn't say something like that, he tried to rationalize. That rationality failed by the 3rd time she said it that day. By the end of the toasting and the talking, she had said it a total of seven times, and made the sound of a whip being cracked twice.

Soon it was time for the dancing, and when that was done, then presents would be opened, and then some more dancing and music until everyone was ready to go home, and they would all trickle out as they felt the need to.

Ron had shown up, and was very nice to Blaise, and soon they had laughed over Quidditch games, and then had split up as Ron had seen Daphne, who smiled at him radiantly. Blaise had walked over to Harry and sat down on his lap. "Did I really just see Ronald Weasley hug Daphne Greengrass?"

"Yeah. He likes her, and apparently we are giving him role models on how to do inter-house dating between Gryffindor and Slytherin." Blaise nodded and smiled as she watched them dance. "Whoda thunk it. Us...role models." They both laughed at this, and then laughed harder as they watched Kyoto dip Jamie, and was sensually dragging his hand up the outside of her thigh as he pulled her up to a standing position again.

Blaise smirked and pulled Harry out to the dance floor. He warned her, but she rolled her eyes and placed his hands around her waist. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and they began to rock back and forth. "But you have never danced with someone you truly cared about, have you? It's different."

And it was. He wasn't as bad at it as he thought he was before, but guessed it had to do with him being a lot more sure of his feet, and even more sure of himself, than the last time he had tried to dance. He even had the daring to spin Blaise out, and then spin her back to him. She laughed in glee, and before he could try anything as daring as the dip Kyoto had done, the music had sped up. And they had danced, not caring about looks, just doing what felt right…as long as they didn't hit other people.

It seemed that Daphne could be just as goofy as Ron, and the crowd was away from them, as they danced around and acted out, flailing around and laughing to each other as they did.

Harry and Blaise were taking a much more structured and less dangerous path, and soon it went from Blaise grinding against him to him spinning her around and putting his hands on the small of her back and holding her to him as they moved, and then he pulled her up and pressed his lips to hers.

In both of their minds, the music stopped and the people stopped moving around them, and it was just them. The only problem was, when they did finally pull back from each other, the music had stopped, as had the people, as everyone there was watching them. Many of the girls "aww"-ed, while some of the guys whistled, and Kyoto was laughing at something or another.

Harry rolled his eyes at the man, but he laughed louder. Once his laughing calmed down, he shouted out, "Damn Harry, if you got that from dancing, when she sees your gift, we might all have to leave the room." And then he smirked. "Hey, you could then tell your first kid that they were conceived on their mother's birthday!"

Harry sighed, and then Blaise told him, "Then I will open everything else, and maybe I should wait until we get back to my room to open yours." Harry smiled, and then danced some more. Blaise was then taken by her mother, and they danced to a slow song, and then other people cut in to dance with the birthday girl. Harry shouted at a pause in the music, "Any one whose hands go near the areas they should not be will be eating my shoe!"

It was a funny threat, filled with laughter, and Ron shouted back, "does it at least come with some kind of condiment? It looks kind of dry." Everyone laughed, but got what the threat was. As he stood there, suddenly, he was grabbed and dragged out by Hermione, and she danced with him. They talked for some time, and she commented on him not being a bad dancer, and then the song sped up.

He was dancing with Daphne here, and lost all pretences, and both of them started acting a complete fool, and Harry had the most fun since dancing with Blaise as he danced with her. She was funny and had a great mind as well as a good personality. As a slower song came on, Blaise's mother showed up and snatched Harry up and pulled him to her. Blaise saw this and chuckled.

"Hands where I can see them, woman!" Her mother stuck her tongue out at her .

"Always spoiling the fun, Blaisey. I will fondle my future son-in-law if I damned well please." She spoke, and rolled her eyes.

Harry held up his hands in a surrender, so Blaise could see them. "I'm not touching, I'm not touching!" This, of course, led to another badly-disguised "whipped" gag by Jamie…which was echoed by Kyoto at the same time.

They all laughed, Blaise was dancing with Kyoto at that point. It was a slow dance, the pairs spoke softly as the piano on the song became dominant. Soon the song was over, and Kyoto switched with Harry, and Harry pulled Blaise to him, and he held her. He kissed her along her neck for a moment, before kissing her on her lips as he let her go as the song ended all too soon for his liking.

Suddenly, there was a shout. "Presents!" and they all headed into the kitchen, where there was the pile of presents. Harry smiled as Blaise went through her presents. From some of her housemates she got various gifts, and even got a Wizarding Wireless, something she didn't own, as she had been listening to muggle music since she was small. She got a few knives of different types and uses, many ornamental, and a few looked like they could be used to really hurt someone. It was explained to all who didn't know, that this was one of her things that she collected, here Harry interjected that she also collected his clothes, and never gave them back. To which Blaise echoed a "Damn Straight".

Pretty soon there was more dancing, and then everyone steadily left. And during this commotion, Harry and Blaise caught sight of Ron and Daphne's first kiss. They smiled as the two left together.

The last one gone was Hermione, who had said that she didn't want everyone to see her gift to Blaise. She handed the girl a series of spiral notebooks, and said that she would have to get them back, and when it got published, then she would be the first with a copy. Blaise smiled and looked at the title on the cover, and laughed and hugged the girl. Harry looked and smirked.

"Harry Potter, The Man who Lives, Not the Boy-Who-Lived." Harry was nearly brought to tears as he heard that Hermione had been writing about him, things she saw about his life and all of the things he had done in his life that were taken wrong by the media. It was documentation of who he was as she, a friend, saw him, not how the media decided to portray him. It also included little things like how he only ate the red and blue Bernie Bott's Beans, because "they were less likely to be something stupid like gasoline", he had the hiccups in 1st year for a solid 3 days, he can say his a-b-c's backwards easily, and other odd, very Harry things that only she knew.

"Maybe you can help me with it, and we can write this together, eh?" Hermione smiled and Blaise threw her arms around the girl.

"Yes. Two people that are sick of the misconceptions. Maybe this will help," And with that and a ghost of a smile toward Harry, Hermione left. Blaise made to move all of the knives, and Harry took them, carrying them in his arms as she led him up the stairs and to one of the locked doors. She placed her hand on the doorknob, which Harry assumed to have been locked based on Ron's words, and twisted the handle. The door opened, and she smiled deviously, as the door revealed massive numbers of blades. There were many ornamental knives, as well as some ancient-looking ones.

There was even a section was separated from the rest, that Blaise told him house all of the cursed knives, as well as the ones unsafe to be put into normal use. She gushed over a pair of blades that were about as long as one's forearms, and very sharp. The ends of the blades came to a pointed hook, and the hook bent in toward the blade, so in essence the two curved weapons looked like the letter "J" but ended with a point and the short bladed part that was the part after the curve was close to the original blade.

"These are the Zabini blades. It was rumored that, centuries ago, the same person who crafted the Slytherin and Gryffindor Weapons created these. They are given to a Zabini once they finish their training…" And she drifted off as she stared at them in awe. The blades was a shimmering metal, and the weapon looked much more oriental-influenced than the Gryffindor sword's double-edged blade, as the weapon held only one edge, and was curved gently. The handle was wrapped in black material that looked like silk, and they were beautiful weapons.

"Training, Blaise? What…training?"

Blaise paled some as he asked, before turning to look at him. She looked nervous about something, and saddened and scared, all at once. "Harry, I am going to tell you something about my family, and I…I hope it doesn't change anything."

Harry nodded, and looked at how, whatever it was that she needed to say was tearing the girl up inside. "Well…for centuries, Zabinis have been trained in a certain…lifestyle. My grandfather trained my mother, and my mother has been training me, and it has gone on and on for some time. That is the art of the assassin, magical and muggle, which is what the family was in the past, back when the Wizarding world was small and the older families ran everything." She looked at him, gauging a reaction, but his face was neutral. "Now don't think that this means that we are all murderer for hire, it just means that we are trained in how to keep our bodies under our control, how to move, that kind of thing. The training doesn't mean we decide to me assassins, and for a long while, we haven't been. My mother took the training, and found that, during the study on getting into your 'target's' mind, she had a knack for psychology, so she decided to study it.

"I doubt I will be doing that, but doubt I will become an assassin either. I think it is something I like, especially now…because I feel like I can help you. Or that I can at least not be a liability. Not feel like I am helpless."

Harry looked at her. Tears were falling down her face, and she didn't know what he was going to say to the information he was given. And he smiled at her and lifted her chin to make her look at him, as she had been staring at the ground. "Do you think I am evil? Will you leave me? Will you stop being with me, because we didn't always kill bad people…"

"We?"

"Well, my family."

"Blaise, have you ever killed anyone deliberately, in cold blood?"

"No…"

"Then you aren't evil." She didn't look convinced. "Blaise…will you leave me?"

She looked shocked and confused. "Why would I? You aren't secretly an assassin too, are you?"

"I am part Demon now, and we are apparently _inherently_ evil." And then Harry thought about it. "Well, in a way I am an assassin, but only being trained to kill one person. It's in the prophesy after all, and I don't really feel like dying any time soon, and leaving you here all alone." She smiled brightly as he kissed her on her forehead. "Besides, just lets me know not to piss you off." He finished cheekily, and she hit him in the arm, before they put the knives down and headed back to Blaise's room. And there, sitting on the bed, was the box Blaise's mother had had them pick up from Knockturn Alley, wrapped in sky blue wrapping paper.

Blaise looked at Harry as she made to open the box, but before she could get it open, there was the loud sound of Blaise's mother shouting, and then Kyoto growling. Flinging open the door, Blaise jumped on Harry's back, and he leapt from the top of the staircase to the ground, and Blaise filed off as he landed in a low crouch.

And there, standing by the fireplace, were Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, and Pansy Parkinson. Harry growled as he looked at them, but then stopped as the fireplace flared up, and Professor Dumbledore stepped out, looking grave.

"Harry…its Bellatrix." He grave tone in the man's voice made him sigh slowly, and wait for an answer. However, before he could ask what that was, Draco spoke.

"What of Aunt Bella, Professor, and what does Potter have to do with that?"

"That's Uncle Potter, little Draco. Please, do not make the same mistake again, lest I must to ground you, or take away your allowance or your broomstick, or whatever your stupid pureblooded stick-in-the-mud ultra-conservatives get and do."

"Uncle?"

"Get over it." Harry said, and then looked to Dumbledore. "Where is she?"

"Infirmary." The man had to run out of the way to avoid getting hit, as Harry, with Blaise having grabbed his hand, and with the powder in the fireplace, they were gone.

"Now Mr. Malfoy…what, exactly, were you doing here?" Dumbledore asked.

-----


	11. Chapter 10

**FFOmega**

Part I: Bitter-Sweet Dreams

Chapter 10

Baretta lay in his bed, his mind far from the girls that were trying to make a show of undressing in front of him. The first girl he had picked up had attempted to arouse him the whole ride on the motorcycle. As she was doing now, as he lay in the bed still fully clothed while her friends stripped in front of the bed.

All this, and he was not looking at them. His hand did roam the girl next to him, squeezing in all the right places that made her moan and groan, all while not looking at her, and yet, he did not look at them, or seem overly amazed with his luck in the situation.

The girl from the motorbike, the one with the long, dark hair and the illegally short skirt, which was currently on the floor with the rest of her clothes, lay in nothing but French-cut pink panties, with her hand working its way around his body.

And as the two other girls, who had been making out neared him, she stood and moved out of the way at their dismissal, almost submissively. His hands reacted quickly and the two women were staring at his guns. And with a smile, he held them there. "Fucking vampires. You bitches need to watch who you are picking up."

"Who…"And then they seemed to peer at him closely, and then hiss and back up against the wall. "Fallen!"

"Always hated that name. But, won't matter much." The vampire on the left leapt toward him. And as her mouth opened to try and rip into him, she found the gun in her mouth. He smiled sardonically and pulled the trigger. The bullet shot though her skull and into the vampire directly behind her. The first vampire seemed to explode from the head, but there was no blood, and she simply sunk down to the ground, and began to leak dust. The other vampire had a similar reaction, but looking up from the wound in her stomach, she caught another bullet between the eyes, and she fell to the ground.

The first girl had stood there, in shock. She was scared, and worried he would turn the gun on her. However, he was busy kicking the fallen body of the first vampire off of the bed. "I know you are a human, and I won't kill you, have no worry." She sighed slowly, and made to pick up her clothes, but he shook his head. "Oh no you don't. You started something, and I would very much like to finish it." She smiled prettily as he pulled off his duster and set the guns on the bedside table, well within his reach.

She slid into the bed after turning the light off, the only light in the room was the soft moonlight filtering in through the window. And soon the sounds of her shouts and happy screams echoed through the neighborhood, and hours later, he left chuckling, hopping on the motorcycle and speeding away from the house, satisfied with himself.

-----

Harry stood in the Hospital Wing, staring at the still body before him. She was silent, but breathing, and that was all he cared about. Madam Pomfrey informed him that the baby had been lost, as she had suffered a bout of the Cruciatus, and the pain had put the baby's nervous system into arrest, and its brain had shut down. He had sobbed uncontrollably at this, for some unknown reason to him. And as he broke down, something in Severus Snape's eyes shifted.

His jaw fell, before he spoke in a calm voice, telling how Voldemort let the women who became pregnant out of his legion, or more or less, said he let them. In truth, the magic on the seal that was the Dark Mark was not enough to bond the souls and the life forces of two beings to him, and therefore the combined power of mother and child would break the connection.

"Bellatrix had been intending to use the child to break the connection between she and the Dark Lord. She wanted to start over. Her husband was gone, and she had seen too much destruction. And she wasn't stupid, she saw the way the war was swaying, and with whoever the psycho bitch that is out there killing Death Eaters is, it would only be a matter of time before she made it to the Dark Lord. She wanted to get out, and that child was her way." Snape sighed sadly. "And she wouldn't tell who the father was. And because of that, an over-zealous rookie Death Eater with an itching to get into the inner circle, blasted her with a Cruciatus. And the baby is dead. And not only is the Dark Lord not happy, but he dissolved the connection, and ordered me to get her help. He was torturing the rookie when I left, and he ordered me never to allow her back."

"But why would he help her? And why would he order her not to come back?"

"The Dark Lord can not show weakness. He rejected her from his fold, but he knows the damage she took. He knows she is barely likely to survive this, as a mother who is a witch has a deeper bond with her child than one who is not, as she feeds the child through not only her body, but her magic. And although the child is barely anything as of yet, the connection is already deep enough to make this affect her more than normal."

And Snape turned his back. "I will leave you." And with that, he left the Hospital Wing. And as he did, Harry held onto Bellatrix's hand as he sat on the bed beside her body, and he was gripped with too many emotions at once. And he couldn't stand it, and he broke down, while wrapping his hand around the cool metal of the bed frame, and with a shout, the metal bend in under his hand, and seemed to darken significantly.

And as Blaise spoke his name softly, he turned to her. And his hair was whirled around his face, covering the top half of his face, but his mouth seemed to bare fangs of some kind, and he was radiating this energy that even Blaise could feel pushing her very being back. His arm, which still gripped the metal bed frame in an all-too-tight grip, showed his veins, and his forearm muscles were so defined that she swore she could see the serrations in the muscles, and could see the beating of his heart as it pushed the blood through his veins.

And then he seemed to shake himself, and melt back into the Harry she knew. The energy stopped flowing, and he blinked several times, and his eyes seem to fade from a different color, to the green again, letting her know that when his hair had hidden his eyes from her view, something had happened that changed them. But they were not the same as before. They were the same color, sure, and they were, to anyone looking, just his eyes again, but there was something behind them. Something deep within them. And she only recognized it because of how closely she had placed her heart into him. And it chilled her. Because for those few seconds until his eyes seemed to come back clears as ever, she was truly scared. Because he truly looked so lost and crazed with sadness.

And as he laid down next to Bella in tears, and Blaise snuggled up with him laying against her, with her back to the head frame, and Harry against her. He held to Bella with one arm, while his other hand held on to Blaise's with a death grip. And he drifted off to sleep.

-----

Kyoto stood at the door of the night club, rolling his eyes, saddened at the complete depravity of the whole situation. Jamie had sent him out to have some fun to calm down, as he had been worked up about wanting to go see Harry, but was restricted from the castle by everyone he spoke to, especially because it seemed that Professor Snape had to be on call with a potion, and they didn't need another conflict between the two, regardless of its good or bad nature.

So he stood to the door of the night club. The bouncer had let him in immediately, not even asking for identification. Kyoto strolled in to hear thumping music known as "techno" apparently, and it was a distraction that allowed him to mentally tune out to the point that he missed the blade to his back. Until it started to push against into him and against his skin. And he heard whispering. "Out to the back alleyway. Don't try anything."

"You could have just asked…I'm all for it. Let's go!" And he walked to the back alley, walking away from her blades, a bounce in his step. She shook her head, slipping the scythes back into the holders for them, shaking her head at how fast he seemed to want to go to his death.

As she entered the back alley, she saw him still dancing slightly to the music. He went from slight moving to a move where he ran a few steps forward and did a no-handed back flip and landed on his feet, before he seemed to be about to do another move when he saw her. He pushed his white hair back behind him, thankful that it was stick-straight again, as he really had looked like a girl with his hair all spiraled and curly, and that irritated him. He looked at her as she came into the alleyway, leaning against a wall as he did and rifling through his pockets.

She was a nice height, good average height for a woman, and she had incredibly long, dark hair. She wore a one-piece black leather-looking cat-suit of some kind. She had a blue denim jacket on over the top of the suit, as it was made more like a tank top on the top, and she would be cold without it. She wore a silver locket around her neck, and a holster was on her waist, where two small hand-scythes, or sickles, hung. She was shockingly pretty to him, with her ashen skin. She had a shape most women would kill for, chest just contained in the top of the suit, and her hips pushing to be released from the tight confines.

She looked at him, as he pulled out a small lighter. And flicking it back and forth, they had a stare-down. Thinking she heard something behind her, she turned to look behind her. As she turned back around, she saw him standing right up in front of her, the lighter casting an eerie light on the underside of his face, as the flame was a bluish-white color. "Hey cutie. What was it you wanted me for?" He asked, and his voice was between flirtatious and bored.

She stuttered for a moment before yanking out her scythes, and placing them in a scissor-type style at his neck. However, he didn't seem too scared, as the other Death Eaters had. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a moderate-sized bottle of vodka. At her raised eyebrow, he shrugged. "Bartender isn't very observant."

"They keep that behind the bar."

"So, he was _really_ unobservant." And he undid the top on the vodka by simply making a hole in the top of the bottle with his nail and yanked the top full off. And it was then that she saw the nails and the other odd things about him. But she was unnerved by not being able to see where he was looking because of the dark sunglasses. So she told him to take them off. "You sure you want that?" She bit the blades in toward his neck more. He nodded and did so, and she gasped at his eyes.

However, he seemed more focused on the shadows behind her. In a smooth motion, he batted the scythes down from near his neck, and pulling the lighter out and went back to flicking it. Suddenly he raised the bottle toward his mouth. "You might want to point those somewhere else, like behind you." Was all he said before he took a huge drink of the alcohol. She turned and saw nothing, and felt him slip away from her. However, before she could turn on him, he moved beside her, and spewed the vodka from his mouth, and into the flame oh his lighter, making a fireball of sorts, a flamethrower effect that showed her what was in front of her. And she gasped.

About 10 or so figures stood there in front of them. And it took her a moment to realize what they were. "Vampires."

"Yep. The scum of the spawn of Heaven and Hell." Kyoto replied, cracking his neck and then hands, and then doing a no-handed back flip once more, getting loose for the fight ahead, apparently.

"Speak not as such, filthy human. You are nothing but food to us, do not lose your place."

"Human? That's a laugh. 'Creatures of the Night' my ass. You are all pale imitations of what you came from. For Hir's sake, you descend from Opacus, of all people. He may have been a good, upstanding, evil bastard, as far as Angels go, but you aren't even Demonic, you are Heavenly in nature. So…go save some little kid from falling off a bridge, and leave the darkness and the evil to the Demons. Asswipe creatures."

The vampires hissed in indignation. "Who are you, speaking to vampires this way!" She asked him.

"You first."

She rolled her eyes, but figured that the person would be killed and fed on in moments so she saw no reason to not tell him. "Lulu. That is all you need to know. I am Lulu, a Dark Mage."

He smiled. "Damn, couldn't have had a Light Mage here with these vamps, I suppose?" She made for her scythes again, and he smirked. "Kyoto Nox. Demon of Darkness, also known as Shadow at times."

She looked at him, and then watched as he did a dance to the increased tempo of the music which could be still heard thumping from outside the club, and then leapt forward. She cast a fire spell, lighting one of the vampires on fire, which gave her time to watch as he kicked on of the vampires in the chest, and rotated in the air and hit another in the chest, before landing on that vampire's chest, jumping off of it, crushing its chest in, and back flipping in the air, to do a spinning kick of some kind in the air. And with his hands as he landed, he parried a diving vampire, and then jammed his hand, fingers first, into the head of the figure. And with his hand still in its head, he spun around, using the creature as a bat of sorts to clear out some of the vampires closing in.

The light dies, and casting another Fire spell, she burned another vampire, and found herself standing back and watching as he literally beheaded a vampire with one kick. Soon he was almost done and she had been watching him so long, that she missed the vampire who had snuck up on her. And as it made to sink its teeth into her, Kyoto turned and kicked the head of the beheaded vampire up into the air, and with a roundhouse to it, sent it flying forward, and into the throat of the vampire attacking her. Since the vampire had been beheaded with its mouth open and fangs at full extent, the fangs sank into the neck of the fellow vampire, who fell to the ground, shaking.

Blasting it with a Firaga, she spit on it before turning to find Kyoto dancing while he was fighting them. It was then that she realized that it was all a game for him. And after finishing the last one, they came out of the alleyway.

Came out to find what seemed like a Death Eater meeting inside the club. And they were uninvited guests. And were recognized and placed on Voldemort's list of people to watch out for. So they were spotted and had many a wand trained on them. And at the head of the meeting, seemed to be a man with long blonde hair. Lucius Malfoy. But he had changed. And with a sniff, Kyoto laughed.

"Vampire…Ha. Shitty species to be Turned to, but, whatever floats you boat." And then he whispered to Lulu out of the side of his mouth, "Get those things ready. You are going to need them. Your spells take too long to cast here, I can try and give you enough cover to get a few out, but I can't promise anything."

"We know who you are, Demon. We also know, through intelligence, that you have a relationship of some kind with Potter. That will end tonight. But do not worry, he will be behind you shortly, and you can both be damned to Hell soon enough."

These words seemed to set something off in Kyoto. His eyes narrowed, and his bones seemed to all grate and crack for a moment. His general appearance seemed incredibly feral, in a beautifully, and sickeningly graceful way. "What did you say?" His voice was intoned, but loud, like he was speaking in an echo. His hands seemed to have forced his claw-like nails out even more, and he was radiating a dark energy that was literally cold. And suddenly a decidedly sick smirk appeared on the man's face.

"You, Vampire, will be the last to taste the blood of your comrades from my claws. Yes, you may drink all you like, as I reach down your throat and pull your intestines out, before feeding them back up your ass. Bet you might get a kick out of that." And then with a flash of darkness, he was gone. And suddenly the music started again. The Death Eaters had cleared the club out apparently, and staring at the laptop on the DJ's stand, he smiled, thankful that the club was into the newest technology, and therefore had computerized DJ equipment.

Clicking on a song he liked, the man who called himself Shadow stood there, with a CD in his hands. And with a grin and a nod to Lulu, he leapt toward one of the Death Eaters. They had all been stunned by his sudden disappearance, as, according to their Lord, he had no conventional magical abilities.

And with a downward slash of the CD he had cracked in half, he cut into one man's face. The man screamed, before everyone around him lost their standing ability, as their kneecaps were kicked in the opposite direction as they were supposed to bend. Shadow grabbed one man by the head and placed his hand behind the man's neck, and pushed, hard, and the neck broke, before, still holding the head, he jumped over the man, and then flipped the man over his own body, carrying him up and over, before he slammed him, neck first, into the ground. And laying there, dead as a doornail, Shadow kicked him in the lower back, sending him into the path of a Killing Curse.

Jumping and flipping in the air, he landed in a sitting position on a man's shoulders, but on his front and not his back. The momentum carried them forward, or backward in the case of the man who was being used as a chair almost. And as soon as they hit the ground, having ducked under a few bright blasts of light, Kyoto slammed his foot into the man's face. Crouching low, he did a shoulder-charge, taking out both of one man's knees, before lifting him and using him as a shield.

And then it happened. Lulu had finished the spell she had been working. It was a weave of Ultima along with Flare. There was no reason to do so, but it would increase the power. And as she launched it, the first line of Death Eaters were blown up. Literally. And this turned some attention back to her. Taking the scythes in hand and twirling them for a moment, she climbed up on the bar and leapt. She slashed a man's arms almost off, and in the same movement, spun around and cut through two man's wands, and furthermore, their hands, horizontally as they had raised them to cast spells. Ducking a spell by falling back into a acrobatic maneuver called a "bridge", she collapsed it as a Death Eater made to physically kick her. The leg flew over her, and she swept the other leg out from her position on the ground, sending the man sprawling on the ground.

Bringing her legs in, she kicked out, sending herself into an immediate standing position. She cast a "Protect" spell on herself to protect from all the flailing of limbs around her, before dodging a curse with a one-handed cartwheel, followed be a no-handed cartwheel, while launching the now joined scythes, which had joined to make a chakram, an almost circle with the joined handles in the middle and the blades on the outside, a spinning bladed disk. The makeshift circular blade flew through the air and cut through a man, and gave another a chest wound, before it began to come back. As it did, she held a hand up and blasted out a Dark Thundara spell, and the deep colored lightning blasted through several Death Eaters.

As the blades came back, she focused on catching it. Before she could, she took a cutting curse to the arm. This took her concentration off the blade long enough for it to get too close for her to do much of anything. But suddenly it was send high into the air, and when it came down as two separate weapons, she caught them.

Her savior was Kyoto…or Shadow at the current time. He held a staff, which she wondered about its appearance, as the Darksteel was similar to one of the metals in the alloy her scythes were made from. He slapped one man on the head before pushing the staff back behind him, hitting another man in the stomach. Spinning it like a helicopter, he caught several men in the faces, and they staggered back for a moment, but found themselves on the ground when the high spinning turned to a low sweep that took them all to the ground.

One man that tried to run up to Shadow after casting a disarming spell was hit in the face with the staff as it flew toward him, which shattered his nose, before bouncing off his face. Shadow was up with the staff in hand again immediately, catching it from the air. He slammed the man on top of the head as he landed, before tapping it on the ground while pushing a button, the blades shot out from the top.

The blades had a red tint to them, almost like blood, yet they had yet to be used in that fight. But as Shadow cut a man across the arm, fairly deeply, Lulu watched, as she parried spells of varying power with her scythes' metal, or by getting someone between her and the spell, as the man fell down screaming, and seemed about ready to die from the pain such a non-lethal cut seemed to cause. Smirking as he leapt high into the air, Shadow flipped around and landed in a crouch, the blades on the pole-arm having cut through an opponent, and its body fell open in halves, revealing the shadowy eyes to Lucius, who stood on the other side, wand leveled.

"Avada Kedavra!" Lucius shouted, and succeeded in blasting a green light from his wand. However, he was less than successful in hitting the figure he was aiming at. Shadow seemed to melt, and then reappeared on the other side of the room, leaning against the weapon he held. "But my Lord said you have no magical ability!"

"Conventionally, true. Only issue is there is a reason I am known as Shadow, dipshit. A very good reason. You should figure it out at some point."

This conversation was made possible by many of the Death Eaters laying in pain, as a spell called "Demi" was cast. They all seemed to weaken substantially, meaning that when Blizzara was cast, there were many a frostbitten and unconscious Death Eater littering the floor.

And as Shadow leapt at the man, the doors flew open, and in came several people, one tall black man with a bald head, another a squat man with a peg leg and a revolving eye. There were others, but these two seemed to be in control. And in their red and gold robes, the presence of the Order of the Phoenix was an unwelcome one. For, the distraction provided Lucius time to be able to shoot through the window of the club, and disappear into the distance. But not before he took the combined brunt of a Fire spell, as well as a cut from the pole-arm Shadow launched at him. It nicked his arm, and the screams of pain were heard, even as the man apparated away.

"You fucking asses." Was all Shadow said, before he left the building, Lulu blasting a whole in the wall and heading off on her own way, even more intent on her quest for answers, but assured in the fact that this man, "Kyoto Nox" was in fact, as close to being on her side as anyone she had met as of then.

"I will avenge you…my child…he will not get away with what he has done to you, to me…" And as she wandered down the street, she passed a vendor on the street, setting up small stuffed creatures he called "moogles." She pulled out her scythes, and within seconds, stuffing littered the ground.

"Wha…"

"They killed my child. They tried to kill me. You will not distribute these to the mass populace, I will be damned." And as he went for his wand, he found the scythe at his neck. "Find a new profession, old man, or I _will_ kill you."

And elsewhere, the insane look on the man's face faded, and before he made it back to the Zabini household, he was once again, Kyoto. And taking a seat on the couch, he sighed softly, before passing out. And his dreams were haunted with deranged laughter, and the sound of banging. Banging on a wall, deep within his mind, kicking and scratching and slamming, trying to break through. And the mortar was cracked. The bricks were missing chunks. And the very foundation of the wall was shaking. And with a pulse, deep colored energy, darker than the darkest black, began to leak out, slowly in the fairly deep coloring of the room the wall seemed to be protecting.

-----

It was a full 4 days before Bellatrix awoke. And Harry refused to leave, and therefore, Blaise was there as well. She found herself staring at Bellatrix more and more. Harry would often times be just close enough to her to be able to feel the heat from her body, if he wasn't touching her. Jamie had brought some clothing for him, as well as his book on Demons, and the book on Pure Blooded Lineage. And he sat there, reading. Blaise got so bored at some point, that running her hands through his hair turned into her sitting there, putting his hair in really weird styles. And that was why, when Bellatrix awoke and looked around to the sleeping boy next to her, with the pretty girl she recognized as Blaise Zabini sitting on his lap, her laughter awoke them.

Harry had one ponytail on the exact top of his head, making him look kind of like a pineapple, and then another two behind those, to make a 'V' shape. And then the hair that was just going past his shoulders was tied together under his chin by another hair tie. He looked very, very weird. And his eyes flew open at her laughter, and she had an unexpected reaction from him. After kissing Blaise on the cheek, waking the girl, who got off of his lap, he dove from his seat and tackled her in a hug. She patted him on his back, and peered down at him as he looked up at her.

And from there, she looked to Blaise, who stood to the side during the whole interaction. She beckoned Blaise over, and then spoke gently to her. "Ms. Zabini, as I understand it, you have been involved with this one here?" Blaise nodded, in confusion. "Would you mind taking a hold of him? I really don't think any of his friends would like it very much if they came in here to see their 'savior' hugging on a Death Eater. It might be harder to take me away to Azkaban with him holding me."

"They aren't taking you to Azkaban." Blaise spoke softly.

"They aren't?"

"As of now, the Ministry knows nothing about your whereabouts. It has come to their attention that you were under Imperius by your late husband. So you are now cleared of all charges, especially since Harry refused to press any." Blaise said all of this with an edge to her voice, especially the part about Imperius, and Bellatrix caught on and nodded.

"Well, I think it's time that we head back." Harry said, standing. "I won't let them take you. Snape explained everything to me, and I will be there for you. Thank you for not telling him whose child it was to be." And he turned to leave.

"Harry…"

"Yes?"

"Would it…would it be alright to give the child a name?" She asked this stuttering. "Just to give some closure on it. Maybe a name that can work for males and females?" She didn't expect him to agree, but he smiled sadly and nodded, turning from her.

"I'll ask you what is was when I next see you. And that won't be in Azkaban, if I have to pay the fines for your supposed crimes myself. This might lose me some support, but at this point, I don't think I care much anymore." And with that he disappeared. Blaise was still there, and Bellatrix called out to her.

"Tell Jamie I said hi, please."

"You know my mother?"

"We were in the same year at Hogwarts. She was…she was the only person I trusted. When she got arranged to your father, and me to…that bastard…it tore both of us apart. She taught me what it was to be a truly powerful and commanding woman. Hopefully one day, I can be like her. And like you." She said with a smirk.

"Me?"

"Yeah. You have Harry there whipped, eh? Do I expect to be seeing Harry Zabini any time soon?" Blaise rolled her eyes slowly, but shook her head.

"No. More than likely, I will end the Zabini name if that ever comes to happen. It's been centuries of people marrying in and taking our name. I'm ready to move away from that." She said wistfully, before smiling darkly. "I'll let her know you said hello. And expect to see me later, asking about embarrassing moments of my mother's. I have to give poor Kyoto some kind of leverage." She muttered as an after-thought, and then turned and left.

Bellatrix sighed before laying back, and almost drifting back to sleep before the Hogwarts staff arrived, and saw her awake, and began the checks on her.

-----

Baretta ditched the motorcycle when he arrived at the airport. He wanted out of the damned country, and as he went toward the metal detectors after buying his tickets, he realized what they did. Shaking his head, he slipped his hand under his duster, and ran his finger down the air inside while muttering. And a tear appeared in the time and space of when and where he was, and he slipped all three weapons into it. And then he walked through the metal detector. And the alarm went off. Cursing to himself, he stepped back, and they took him over to the side and began checking him over.

And finding the many blades in his boots and such, and then finding even more different types of weapons on him, he cursed as they lead him to a room on the side. And placing all of the weapons on the table in front of him, a woman in a white blouse, and a navy blue skirt suit, with a gleaming golden badge attached to her waist walked in, clipboard in hand. She stood across the table from him, feeling fairly safe as they had not only handcuffed the man's arms behind his back, but handcuffed his handcuffs to the steel chair.

"So let me get this straight. You planned on taking an international flight with…2 .9mm Glocks, a switchblade, a butterfly knife, half a box of shotgun shells, 13 hand grenades, a dismantled uzi, 3 pounds of C4, a handful of deactivated area mines, a spool of piano wire, brass knuckles, _spiked _brass knuckles, a box of nails, 5 personal lighters, a 'Jumbo' sized can of lighter fluid, a set of blow-darts, a pickaxe and a baseball bat." She read down the list, her voice growing more unbelieving as she went. "I would like to know where all of this came from, and what the _fuck_ you were thinking trying to fly with them all." She slammed the clipboard on the table, which also housed all of the items listed, as she leaned down and looked at him.

She obviously didn't know the view down the front of her shirt that she was giving him, otherwise he supposed she would have buttoned the buttons, unless it was some kind of interrogation technique. Rolling his eyes, he stood and reached into his long coat, re-opening the rip, and placing his two handguns, as well as the sawed-off on the table before going back and standing by the chair. Reaching in to the coat, he pulled out a bottle of Jack Daniel's, and began to drink from it.

The woman for the most part, was staring at him in shock. There on the table were two handguns, of types that she had never seen before, and obviously had avoided the airport security, as well as a sawed-off shotgun that shouldn't have been able to hide in that coat without it showing. "…How…" Was all she could stammer out.

"Take out the magazines to the guns." She did as he said, and saw nothing but a deep blackness on the inside. As far as appearances went, the gun appeared empty. "Is that glass bulletproof?" she nodded. "Shoot at it." Seeing no problem, she shot the gun at the glass in the room. And it shattered the one-way glass, and the snap-back sent the woman stumbling back into the table behind her. Any normal person that was not trained in firing weapons, could have easily killed _themselves_ by firing the gun. The man smiled.

"What the _HELL_ is this thing?" The man shouted.

"Those…those are personally crafted handguns. All custom. Before a few upgrades some time ago, they were over 50 caliber, so I don't know where they sit at now, but let's just say that they are some fun weapons to have around in my line of work." Some men ran into the door, having heard the gunshot, but she shooed them out immediately.

Before she could ask what his "line of work" was, she looked to the sawed-off sitting on the table. And at the base of it, before the two barrels, there was a golden form of some sort, that looked decidedly organic. And there were golden threads running from it that looked almost like veins from some kind of heart. And as she looked at it, she saw the blob-like form pulsing to a rhythm that was like a heartbeat. "And this?" She asked nervously. She had decided already that, whoever this man was, he was fully capable of escaping if he felt the need to. And her curiosity was overcoming her better judgment.

"That…her name is Apathy."

"Its named…apathy?"

"_Her._ I said it for a reason. Her name is Apathy."

"You say that like it is a living person."

"Person? No. Living? Very much so." The woman stared incredulously at the man in front of her. He had obviously played some kind of trick on her with the handgun, be she would not be taken for a fool.

"And how is a gun alive, exactly?"

"By having been a Demon at some point, and having the heart of such a creature still beating within her." Was the simple answer. And finally it was all too much for her.

"Who the hell are you! We have been unable to find any files on you anywhere, and you seem to not have fingerprints at all, or any other form of identification."

"Who are you, exactly?"

"I am Agent Rose Brown, Scotland Yard. I am part of the Paranormal Studies Division, and I was called in because it seems that we have a man who doesn't exist sitting here in this room." And when she looked at him again, she saw him juggling three pairs of handcuffs. He had only been handcuffed by two. And as she checked, she saw that her pair were gone as well.

"I am called Baretta. It is of no importance because I assure you, you will find no files on that name, either. I exist, but not in the way you want me to, I assure you. And my line of work, and you have been wanting to ask, is not any of your business. You work for the Paranormal Studies Division, as you said, correct?" Rose nodded. "Then what can you tell me about vampires?"

She narrowed her eyes, and leaned down again. "What do you know about them, is the real question." Upon his raised eyebrow, she sighed. "Vampires are a fictional creature of the night that live forever, and sap the blood from their victims to stay alive." She said this almost as if it was a speech she was to give that was getting old. As she finished this, the man reached into his pocket and tossed something across the table. And laying in front of her, were teeth. They were still attached in some way, and the canines were longer than normal, and the teeth seemed to be permanently tinged with a pinkish color on the tips.

"Then what do you know about the origins of these creatures?" He asked.

"It was said that vampires were created by a man known as Dracula…"

"Not the legend, the true studies I know you have all been looking into. The information from cultures that have been around longer than that stupid book."

Unnerved, she spoke again, this time with a different story. "Vampires were said to come from a fallen angel named Orpheus, and have been around since he first created them. They are regarded as the masters of the night, and the darkest of creatures roaming the earth."

"First of all, his name was Opacus. And second, vampires are scum. Shitty imitations of the Fallen."

"'The Fallen'?" She asked, as the capitalization of the word "Fallen" was clear in the way he said it.

He smirked and took off the sunglasses he had been wearing. His gunmetal gray eyes centered on her, and he let a smirk slide across his face. "Wanna know a secret?" Before she could answer, he spoke. "I hate vampires. They all seem to know about me, however. And those two guns right there, are capable of reducing one to dust very quickly."

"So you know of the existence of vampires? Are you one of them, with a grudge for them turning you?"

"I am…well, I suppose you could say that I am their uncle."

"Uncle?" And finally she began to put the pieces together. The definition of an uncle would be the brother of a parent. And then, by the way he spoke of the vampires and "The Fallen"…

"Yes, there you go. Now, if there is nothing else, I would very much like to be on my way."

"So you are some kind of 'vampire hunter' or something?" She asked, leaning over still. "If so, some of them may be after you, and therefore, you may need to be held in protective custody."

Raking his eyes at the cleavage she was showing him from his standing position, as she leaned down over the table, from the curve of her chest to the arch of his back, he was very much leaning toward allowing them to hold him in _her_ protective custody. "No, not a vampire hunter. They come near me, I kill them. Otherwise, if they leave me alone, I will leave them alone. It's kind of a mutually beneficial relationship. They get to live, I get to not be arsed with killing them." And as he spoke, he began replacing his weapons. As she watched, she finally broke her silence as he slid the baseball bat into one of the inside pockets of the duster. It seemed to disappear as it slid in there.

"How is all of that fitting in there?"

"I have deep pockets." Was his simple answer. And when the last weapon was gone, outside of "Apathy" and the two handguns, he looked at her. "Do you mean to show that much of yourself, or something? Is it some kind of interrogation tactic, or did you just forget to button those buttons?" He asked in a kind of "I really don't care" way. She looked down and saw what she had been showing him the whole time, and a flash of red hit her cheeks, but she put on a brave face, and smirked.

"It might be, or I could have just done this for you." And she winked at him. He slipped Apathy into the holster on his back, which was cut out of the duster as well, and then gripped the handguns.

"Interesting, Ms. Brown." Suddenly the only non-weapon on the table, a cellular phone, began to shake and buzz on the table. Grabbing it up, he answered it, finding it, incidentally on speaker phone.

"Hey, you fucking ass, Harry is back, and I have a very bad feeling about this. A very bad one. But anyways, I left Phearamos in that place where I used to live, and I was hoping you could bring that on the 31st. It's the kid's birthday, and all. And try and craft something for him, ok? He is a Halfling now, and has no choice, he is in this fight with us now."

"You _Turned_ Potter!" Baretta looked less like he cared than he made it to seem he was.

"I had to." The voice from the phone shouted. And Rose's eyes widened as she put it all together. Harry Potter. She had heard the name a few times, and it took her a moment to process, and by then, the conversation had processed.

"I'll see what I can do. Nothing can be done any time soon. So fuck off."

"Bitch." And then the line went dead.

"Who was that?" Rose asked, "And how do you two know Harry Potter?"

"That? That was a Demonic bastard I know. Only person I trust, even a little bit, even though I hate him almost as much as he hates me."

"Why do you hate each other?"

"Think about it. In case you haven't figured it out yet, Demons and Angels don't get along." And with that he nodded to her, and placed his glasses on. "I take it your sister goes to school with him." At Rose's nod, he smiled.

"How did you know I had a sister?" He smiled and tossed her wallet across to her. Apparently he had taken that as well. There was a picture of Lavender in there, that said, "Lavender at Hogwarts, with Harry Potter." The girl had gotten a picture with the boy after a Quidditch game win.

And suddenly the man smiled as he walked out of the room. Just before he was gone, he chuckled. "Gotta love having abilities of space and time. See…you can get your hands on things without having to actually get near them." And she saw as a bit of pale pink material in his hand was placed in his pocket.

And her jaw fell as she felt a bit cooler than she had, and growled before sighing wistfully. The bastard got his hands on her panties without being within 4 feet of her, and her current boyfriend couldn't even get a kiss from her. "Baretta…whoever this bastard is, he is a crazy fuck." She muttered to herself, before sinking down in the chair and sighing deeply, closing her eyes and just relaxing there.

-----

Kyoto was far from happy. He was standing there with Jamie, shopping for Harry's birthday party. Hermione was there as well, as they had asked her along to help, as she knew more about Harry's likes than they did. And here the man was, in a grocery story, feeling up the oranges.

He didn't do grocery stores. He hated them. He ate what he wanted to eat, and anything in the produce department was something he wasn't keen on eating. "Then what do you eat!" Hermione had shouted at him.

"Truth? Demons have a moderate blood thirst, and me myself, I prefer grapes to oranges. Of course, small puppies always taste good as well." This earned him two smacks in the arm. "What!" He tried to sound ignorant about his words, and indignant about the hits. He had called Baretta earlier, and been berated by James about his language on the phone. He rolled his eyes, which got him hit yet again.

Eventually they were out of the store, and back at the house. And the situation got even worse for the Demon. They were all going to start work on the cake, as the party was to be the next day. So they put him in an apron when he walked in to the kitchen, just to get something to drink. And the only apron left only came up to his thighs, and was pink with white lace around the outside.

"Damn you women." He stated, as it was tied to him. And he was rewarded with being pulled down by the collar on the apron, and kissed on the corner of his mouth by Jamie, who turned immediately after and began to work. It was one of those kisses that seemed like she would give Harry or something for working, but it worked perfectly fine for him, and he was generally quiet at the beginning.

But as the cooking got underway, something that Hermione was too book-based to do well, and Jamie was just never good at, he took over. Pushing them out of the way, he began to work, cutting with speed and without looking, as he instructed them on things to do. He was a presence in the kitchen, much like they saw Harry had as well. It was a confidence of having cooked for years.

They made little jokes about it, as he pulled his hair up and back to be out of his eyes and away from the fire and boiling water he was working with. And for all purposes, he looked too much like a woman. A very tall, horribly flat-chested woman, but a woman nonetheless. Blaise came into the kitchen and began laughing incredibly loudly as she saw him. She disappeared soon enough, saying she had to go back up to "occupy" Harry. Hermione was called a bit later, and the girl disappeared. Blaise had come down to get her, and had smiled as she left. "Gonna give you two some time alone, seeing as the food is all on simmer. So…feel free to express yourselves."

-----

Harry was laying off the side of Blaise's bed, his head inches from the floor, and his hair pooling on the floor beneath him. He had noticed that it was a lot slicker and finer, something he attributed to Kyoto, as the man's hair was very…feminine…in consistency. He didn't know whether to thank him or be mad. However, at the time, he didn't care much. The days had past, and he knew that everyone was downstairs cooking for the party the next day, and he was not allowed to go anywhere. He had made a few sketches of what he wanted Blaise's present to look like, as he was given an idea of something he could get Kyoto to make for him to give the girl over Christmas break.

The present he had for her at the time was one that he kept looking at in nervousness. He had read about it, and it was a stone that went by many names. However, one of them was "The Devil's Tear" and it was a very interesting thing. The basis of it was the blood and tears of a Demon, and the blood of the person it was to go to. This was used as a bonding tool to bond a Demon to a person. However, the facts on Half-Demons using this were different. It attached a part of their soul to the person, usually a lover or a family member, therefore allowing that person to be able to summon the Half Demon from anywhere in the world.

Also interesting about it was that it had many different abilities. Harry himself had done some work with Kyoto, and the particular Tear that Harry had created had some abilities to it, such as increased protection on the girl, as well as enhanced abilities to some extent, as she could literally draw Harry's Demonic power from him into her. If anything, it could stop her from dire injury. It also alerted him to when she is in danger, and allowed him to get to her, no matter what was separating them. The Tear was created, and was roughly the size of a ping-pong ball, and looked like a sky-blue diamond, down to the shine of it. He had been assisted by Kyoto, as they broke pieces from it and placed them in a ring. And the obsidian they had placed it in, a material Kyoto said would be sure to carry the Demonic magic without cracking, as it itself was warped in essence, seemed to draw a black glow from the Tear, along with the pure sky-blue. It was a very weird thing to see, as it mixed but it didn't. The colors stayed separate.

He had liked the way it all turned out, and knew that the ring would fit the girl's ring finger on each side, as the band, he had used to check the size on the sleeping girl before the Tear was finished. He intended to place the ring on her right finger if she asked, but if she did it herself, he had no opposition to it going wherever she wanted, even on a chain as he kept his mother's wedding ring.

The door opened with a crash, and Harry fell from the bed. However, before he hit the ground, he had turned in a small flip and landed on his feet, albeit still slightly dazed. It was not an intended reaction, but was more or less a reflex, and he turned to the girls to find Blaise looking slightly impressed, but still fairly apathetic, while Hermione looked shocked. After they all arranged themselves on the floor, Hermione pulled out a piece of parchment, and wrote "Harry's Party List" on the top.

"So…who are you inviting?" Hermione asked, normal ball-point pen poised to write.

"Well…You two, of course. Ron and Daphne. I suppose Lavender and Parvati, and with Parvati comes Padma. Luna, Luna of course. Neville, um…I suppose Dean. Seamus? His mum would probably say no, so no point asking him, and Dean told me a while back that his family was taking a trip to a football tournament, and they won't be back, so forget those two as well. Well…the DA…Susan Bones, Hannah Abbott, uh…any suggestions?"

"Cho." Blaise said calmly. At the flabbergasted look on Hermione's face, Blaise smirked. "I'm an evil bitch, what? I want to rub this all in her face before school starts." Hermione sighed before Harry spoke up.

"No, that is a good idea. Make sure that things are alright between us and everything, before school starts." And then he seemed to be thinking. "Well…adults now. I want to invite Tonks, if she counts as an adult. Blaise's mum and Kyoto, of course, and even though they will be here, would be nice to send them an invite, so its not taken for granted. Also…ok, I am going to say these things, and no one can say anything until I am done." He looked for agreement.

"Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix. I want these two here. And if anyone has an issue with them being here, they can come to me. I have business to talk to with Mrs. Malfoy, and Bellatrix…I want everyone to know that she is with me. Everyone should know that I am with her, because if she is here and I show no hard feelings, the only one who might have something to say about it is Neville. And I think I can get through to him."

After the initial shocked looks, Harry seemed to think. "And Professor Snape. He was a lot of help with Bellatrix, and I have a feeling my OWLs won't be enough to get me into his class, so I have little to worry about from him next year."

Hermione nodded. "Dumbledore?" But she was already writing his name down as if it was a given.

"No."

"But Harry…"

"No."

"Fine."

"Aunt Minnie?" Blaise asked. Harry laughed.

"After the last time she was here, do you really want to do that? And you know what…I think we should have grapes around Snape at all times." The two began laughing hysterically to themselves, leaving a confused Hermione.

"Uh…Aunt Minnie…Grapes?" Smiling, Blaise explained her relationship to Professor McGonagall, before telling the girl if she wanted to see what happened, then she could go down and get some grapes, and they could reenact it. Harry said he thought that would be a bad distraction, so he was vague, stating that Snape had had a show put on for him by Harry himself, Blaise, and some grapes. Hermione blushed and nodded to herself.

"So…that's about it." And Hermione nodded, and then folded the parchment, and they spent the rest of the day talking in companionable conversation, Harry glad that the day had ended to well for him, knowing n ot of the frenzy the next day would bring. If he had thought Blaise's party was eventful, his had all the intentions of being an explosion. Literally.

-----


	12. Chapter 11

**FFOmega**

Part I: Bitter-Sweet Dreams

Chapter 11

The party was underway before Harry even awoke, as Kyoto was dancing about in the living room all alone in the early morning. He was bored as he had ever been, as the cooking had been finished and put under heating charms early into the morning. The music had been brought, but was not to be turned on until the guests began to arrive, which was to be around 11. It was 10, and Kyoto was bored.

So, he just disobeyed orders. He turned the music on, and started to dance. Mid-dance break, he was hit in the head by Jamie, as she awoke groggily, trudged down the stairs still carrying her pillow, and swung with all of her power and smacked him in the head. And when he stumbled, she kept attacking him again, until he was on the ground, and she was just mere centimeters from placing her lips to his.

As they moved in to close that last tiny bit of space, the door opened. Or more accurately, was flung open, and there was the clicking of heavy, military-issued combat boots on the smooth wood of the entryway.

Standing over 6 foot, with a long, sweeping gray duster on, and mirrored sunglasses hiding his eyes, was a man she recognized, even though their meeting was brief. He took off the glasses and glanced to Kyoto and Jamie, both still in their moderately awkward positioning. "So…I'm here." Was all the man said before tossing a long, heavy metal box from the doorway the good many feet through the air, where it landed just inches from the two on the floor. Kyoto didn't flinch, but Jamie looked ready to dive out of the way. "That is all, Demon."

"Whatever, bitch." Was Kyoto's reply, and with a nod of his head, the man in the duster nodded his head, and then disappeared out the door, the sound of it slamming was heard. After some silence, the box rocked for a moment. Jamie thought nothing of it until it moved again a bit later on its own.

Jamie looked at Kyoto. "What the hell was that all about?"

"Nothing." Was the only answer she got, and it was silence for some more time after that.

"And what is that?" She asked, gesturing toward the box on the ground. It was about 4 feet long, and made of heavy-duty metal, which was beaten up and dented, even rusted in some areas. There were, however, several hinges in places showing it opened on one side, and there were a few simple locks along one side. However, there were 2 large padlocks holding the lid down.

"This? This is Harry's birthday present." He patted the top, and the box leapt around for a moment, before, with a powerful slam of the side of his fist to the top, Kyoto silenced whatever was on the inside. "Got any wrapping paper? Maybe something in a nice festive pink, mayhaps?"

-----

Harry wandered down the stairs at about a quarter to 11. He was shirtless, and clothed in little more than some baggy felt sweats and his boots, which he had taken to wearing pretty much everywhere, even in bed if he was so exhausted he was asleep before his head hit the pillow. His hair was completely ruffled and out of place, and he wasn't completely awake, that was evident when he missed the last stair, fell, landed on his back, and before he even hit the ground, was sleep again.

"Uh…should we be worried?" Hermione asked, as she sat in a chair, knitting, to Blaise, who was messing around with a knife in her hand. The other girl shrugged, and they both got up and dragged him into the room they were in and he awoke long enough to get up on the couch, and then he fell back asleep.

"Why is he so tired?" Hermione asked after a while. Blaise shrugged, and Harry rolled over and looked at Hermione.

"Kyoto. Came in and attacked me at about 2 this morning. And again at 2:15. And every quarter hour after that until about an hour ago. If you get me coffee, I will be up. I promise."

Hermione stood and went to go get the coffee, and when Blaise looked at Harry, he was wide awake. Grabbing her and pulling her to him, he latched his lips to hers. When Hermione returned with the coffee, she saw the two of them on the ground, kissing deeply.

She rolled her eyes good-naturedly and sipped the coffee herself, as she sat down pushing the knitting material away from her with her foot, and crossed her legs, sipping the coffee. Harry jumped up, and took the mug from her for a moment, taking a drink from it. He smiled at her cheekily, before getting pulled back down by Blaise. He started tickling her at some point into it, before it turned into a wrestling match, and Hermione found herself in the fray of it, as acting ref.

And that was how Ron and Ginny found them as they exited the fireplace; Hermione, Blaise and Harry on the ground, laughing and laying out on the floor, Harry in the middle, with Hermione on one side, and Blaise on the other. Ron laughed as he watched Blaise make one last attempt to attack Harry, before covering him with one arm, and Hermione pounded the ground 3 times, and declared Blaise the winner.

The girl in question had enough energy to point at Harry and laugh, mocking him for being beaten by her, before she just fell out against him. Her hair splayed across his chest, his behind him clutched in Blaise's other hand, her secret to beating him, and both of them looking completely exhausted.

Ginny glared at Blaise, before drifting off into the house, wandering around some. Because of that, no one but Ron knew she was there but even for him, that thought disappeared when they watched Blaise and Hermione get into a playful match of sorts, which turned into them ganging up on Harry, and Ron became the ref.

After a few minutes of this, Harry stood and walked up the stairs to get dressed. As he was there, he heard a rapping on the side of the door to Blaise's room, which was where he was at the time. Turning, he looked to see Blaise herself standing there. He smiled at her and beckoned her in, and he placed a kiss on her cheek. "You know you never opened up my gift."

She looked up at him for a moment, before she jumped up and down, and clapped. She held her hands out and closed her eyes. He chuckled and pulled out the simple cardboard box, no bigger than his hand, and set it in her hand. She looked at it, and then went and sat on the bed and opened it. And out into her hand fell a ring band and a shimmering bracelet. Set in a deep black material, the bracelet had the sky blue stones along the entire length of it, and seemed to have a soft glow along it. The ring was different. The obsidian setting was twisted, almost like it had been burned in a way, but looked beautiful as such, as the individual strands twisted and then seemed to grab a hold of the nice sized stone in the top, also a sky blue.

Blaise gasped as she saw what was in her hand, and looked at Harry, speechless. "Where…where did you get these?"

Here he smiled. "I made them. Kyoto helped, and to some degree, so did you."

"What do you mean?" Blaise asked, confused as to what she did. Smiling, Harry grabbed the book off of the desk in the room, and placed it in her lap, opening it to the pages on the Devil's Tear. There were notes written along the margins of the book, and even some parts crossed off and arrows directing the reader to read different, hand-written sections. As she read what he had created, she stared in shock, and when she finished reading she hugged him tightly. She held out her left hand for him to place the bracelet. He did the clasp, and felt an energy through him, and could tell Blaise felt it as well.

She smiled at him, and slipped the ring onto her ring finger. On her left hand. And she smiled brightly at him and kissed him deeply after saying "thank you" to him. She began to pull back as they both looked into each other's eyes. The moment was screaming at them, and as the words were on the tip of each of their tongues, there was a glowing from the girl's hand. They both looked, as the bracelet and ring seemed to literally sink into the girl's hand. And where they were, there was what looked to be tattoo-like designs of what both pieces of jewelry looked like on her skin.

As that happened, Blaise looked at Harry. She could almost feel him there with her, beyond physically. She felt safe. She smiled at him, and clasped his right hand in her left, and they headed back downstairs. "I don't know what it is that made them do that, but I'll see what Kyoto says about it, and then we can see if I can make something else for you that you can show all of your friends." Harry said as they walked down the stairs.

Harry heard the voices of Ginny arguing with Hermione loudly, and then saw Ron standing near the bottom of the stairs, almost like a bodyguard or a bouncer of some kind. Upon seeing Harry and Blaise coming down, he made to move them back upstairs, or to the side, or anywhere but where Hermione and Ginny where. Harry narrowed his eyes at his friend, and shook his head, and Ron nodded in understanding. "What's going on?" It was as much a question as a statement.

"Well…Ginny came, it seemed allowed and everything, and she was setting your present from the family in the side room, and saw the list of the people coming. She seemed angry about a few things, and questioned where Dumbledore was, on the list and everything, but assumed it was on the back page. And…she saw Malfoy's mum's name, as well as Lestrange, and she freaked. She started yelling out for you to come and explain why you had suddenly become all 'Slytherin' and everything, and then she made some…comments about Blaise, some including Imperius, and well…Hermione made to defend your honor."

Blaise shoved past Ron, and Harry shot his friend an apologetic looki before he ran after the girl. There was the sound of a slap, and as Harry came into the room, he almost ran into Blaise, as the girl was standing by the doorway. Ginny was holding her face, as Hermione looked the angriest Harry had seen her since the time she hit Draco Malfoy.

"Ginerva Weasley, I do not think you completely understand what you are saying, so I will give you the benefit of the doubt there." Came a voice from the kitchen, and as the door opened, in walked Professor McGonagall. She looked at Hermione, and nodded at her, before looking back at Ginny. "Especially considering that you are speaking about a relationship I myself know and approve of, trusting another student with someone you care for a great deal isn't very easy. I know, as I have trusted Harry with caring for Blaise here. Now if you will excuse me, I have to get back to the castle for a bit. Harry, I will return for the party, and happy birthday." And with that, she headed to the fireplace, just avoiding the tumbling form of Daphne as she stumbled out. She threw the powder in, and headed back to Hogwarts.

"Now what was this about Blaise using Imperius on me, Ginny?" Harry asked, seething just slightly, just barely being able to get into a dark mood again as watching Ron brush the soot from Daphne was making him smile, because he was making it worse.

"Well…I mean…" The girl was stammering. Harry sighed and released Blaise's hand and walked over to the room and took a seat on the couch, and placed his head in his hands, before leaning back and placing his head back, staring at the ceiling.

"If I can throw off that curse from Voldemort himself, then what would make you think she could keep it on me? And for that matter, how would she get past the Under-aged Magic Usage detectors?" At the girl's silence, he sighed. "Ginny, you have to understand. You and I, it just won't work. A crush isn't good basis for a lasting relationship, trust me.

"If the 'Cho fiasco' didn't prove that, then I don't know what will. But Ginny, you have to realize, your family has been the only family I ever had before. And because of that, you will forever be family to me. The little girl who put her elbow in the butter, she was my little sister. Because all the nervousness about me, all the idolization, that wasn't me. That was who I was depicted as.

"And when you see who I am, and respect me for that, you will realize that that is all I am to you, and will ever be. A brother, and hopefully when that day comes, a good friend. And you will know me as Harry. Not just in name, but in your mind."

Ginny ran from the room in tears and Kyoto wandered in, clapping with a smile on his face. It was a smile that freaked Harry out. "And what are you so happy about? Do something with my mother, I suppose…" Blaise asked, mirth written on her face.

"No…not yet. However, you all know what a nice person I am, right?" At their rolling of the eyes, he smiled. "Yeah, true, I'm not. But I have a thing about awkward situations. They are fun. So, that is why I decided to invite that cute little Asian girl to the party. Thought it might be nice to…" And he never got to finish as Harry started chasing him, and eventually they were out of the front door, and Harry was chasing him around the grounds at very high speeds.

"What was that all about?" Ron asked in confusion, as Harry and Kyoto came back panting. Harry kicked Kyoto in the leg when they got back, and Harry sank down on the couch, and Blaise sat down on his lap.

"Cho just got an invite to the party." Blaise sighed, before looking at the tattoo-like things along her wrist. Kyoto saw the design and he got a thoughtful glint to his dark, empty eyes, before he smiled at Harry and ruffled his hair, and then went looking for Jamie. He had some news for her.

-----

The party was underway quickly. Neville arrived, and Ginny seemed to be attempting to use him as a dancing partner, trying to make Harry jealous. But Harry didn't even see them, as there was too much fun going on around him. Cho had, in fact, arrived, and had grabbed Harry for a dance. She apologized for everything, and as they danced, Harry realized he had little to worry about from the girl.

The whole dance, she was glancing over to Kyoto, who was standing by the huge case of butterbeer, and had a look in his eyes that was borderline demented, as he would drink one of the bottles in one drink, and go for another one. Whenever someone would come for one, he looked almost like an animal defending its prey from others.

When he was dragged from the case by Harry, who realized that he had a strong possibility of getting addicted, he sighed after trying to fight away. He stood by Harry, and Cho appeared from where she had been, dancing with Dean, and had surprisingly come, to talk to Kyoto.

"So baby bro, this is your ex?" Kyoto asked, stretching his back. Harry elbowed him in the stomach, causing the man to seem to double-back and hold his stomach for a moment.

"Cho Chang, nice to meet you." She held out her hand for him, but with her fingers bent and her palm facing the ground, like she expected him to kiss her knuckles. Kyoto took it and shook it kind of roughly, and then released her hand. Cho spoke some words in Chinese, and Kyoto shrugged. He spoke absent-mindedly in the same language, before Cho spoke again.

"Not a nice thing to say about the Japanese, young lady." Kyoto said, almost as an off-handed comment. "Especially since I am named after the city I was born in." Kyoto didn't seem too bothered about the whole thing, but smiled regardless. "But nice Chinese, for someone not born there. Your accent is a bit off, but its nothing some practice won't help." And he made a move for the butterbeer again. Harry grabbed him, not even having to watch him to know what the man was going to do.

"What are you, his father? Let him have some if he wants some." Cho scolded, attempting to get back in Kyoto's good graces. The boy wasn't even looking at her, as Blaise was stalking sexily over to him, two glasses of pumpkin juice in her hands.

"No, but do you know what happens to House Elves when they drink butterbeer?" At the girl's silence, which was accompanied by a confused look from her, almost indignant, seeming to ask about why she would care about house elves, he continued. "Its narcotic."

"Are you calling him a house elf!"

"If you would let me finish, I would tell you. Anyone not of slight human blood would find butterbeer fairly addictive, if not immediately narcotic. Even those with human blood, Halflings and such, would still find it causes a buzz."

"And how would you know this. And besides, what is he, anyways?" Cho asked, her Ravenclaw nature causing her to run through all possibilities in her head, trying to figure out what Kyoto could be. He wasn't a vampire, and looked too healthy and strong to be a werewolf, which ate away at the inflicted person's body with each turning.

However, Harry had left with Blaise and Kyoto was left with Cho. "Worry not, young one, of my curse. My blessing. Just…" and with that he took off for the butterbeer. However, Jamie appeared in his way, and grabbed him, pulling him to her to dance.

As the dancing continued, Harry started dancing with Hermione. He was surprised that she had grabbed him as forcefully as she had. And then he realized why. "Bellatrix and Narcissa just portkeyed here. They are in the kitchen." Harry made to go, but she held him. "Hey, not until after the dance, buddy." Harry smiled and danced with his friend, laughing together as they spoke about silly things as they danced, making fun of the incredibly suave and smooth dancing they saw in movies and such, of those dancing couples.

Harry being dipped by Hermione, and then both of them going into spins at the same time. At one point, Hermione was released on a spin from Harry, and started doing a dance Harry recognized from some muggle program as the "cabbage patch" or some such idiocy. Harry did a disco-like dance he had seen Kyoto do once, and then they both came back and mocked the tango, Harry with a lock of Hermione's hair held gently between his teeth where the rose would be, and he dropped it from there as they took to laughing as the song ended.

Heading into the kitchen to the applause of everyone at the two friends' antics, he grasped Blaise's hand and had her walk with him. Once in the kitchen, which had Shacklebot guarding it, there sat Narcissa, and a surprisingly fragile-looking Bellatrix. The latter had her long black hair cast over her face, falling as if put that way to purposely cloak her face from view. Harry walked over to her and slid his hand through her dingy hair, brushing it back from her face to see tears on her face. She was still moderately dirty, and he looked to Narcissa.

Before words were said, Snape made his presence known. Harry knew he was there, for some reason, and he assumed it was the Demon in him letting him know, as he had known Narcissa was on the other side of the door before he had even opened it. "Pomfrey refused to let her bathe. When you were there, she was allowed as Poppy can not deny you, as well as the health of the child was important, supposedly, but once you left and the baby was lost, they saw no reason to care for her."

Harry sighed, and glanced to Blaise, who seemed to know what he was asking and nodded. Harry took the woman's hand and placed it in Blaise's who lead Bellatrix up the stairs to Blaise's room, and to the bathroom there. And Harry sat in the seat Bellatrix had been sitting in, and looked at Narcissa.

"She was very emotional when told you requested her presence here. It was good for her. I thank you, for the both of us." Harry nodded at her. "The ministry has a lot of issues going on, ones that I assume you know nothing about at the current time, which is understandable. However, Fudge was thrown out, and replaced by Madam Bones. Because this is a war, Law Enforcement rule is instated. That was how Fudge got his job, truthfully, as he was secondary command of Law Enforcement during the First War, and when his superior _mysteriously_ died, he became Minister.

"We have testimony about Bellatrix being under Imperius, as we captured a lower-leveled Death Eater who, on a bargain, reported what he saw during his times there, in a pensieve, for a lesser sentence. So she has been cleared of all charges. However, there is the issue about the fact that she never finished schooling."

Harry was shocked at this. And apparently so was Snape. "Yes, she was engaged to the bastard husband of hers. She was pulled out at the end of her 5th year, the year he graduated, and placed into the Dark Lord's services."

"So she is…"

"The first falling of the Dark Lord, your miraculous survival, was over the summer of when she was pulled out. The attacks were worse then, and she built up a reputation in just a few days, as attacks were happening sometimes as many as 5 a day. She had an affinity for the Dark Arts that everyone in our family had, and has, and therefore picked it up like I hear you picked up broom work, and Jamie picked up dancing."

"So…How old is she exactly?" Harry asked, doing the math in his head, and finding himself refusing to believe the answer was correct.

"She turned 31 the day that…well…the day we took her back from _His_ forced services."

"Wow…I always thought she was older." _And that means that they put a teenager in Azkaban! _He thought to himself in shock. After a bit of thinking about this realization, he sighed and then spoke again. "So what do you suppose we do about her schooling?"

"Well, schooling is paid up for her for her last two years, and as such, she deserves it. The Ministry has ahold over the school in this time and under these circumstances. She will be able to return to the school, if not as herself, then nothing more under a guise. However, what you have to do with this, is that I am hoping that you will be able to take care of her. Watch her back. No one will know it is her, but it will be nice to be able to have you take care of her."

Harry nodded immediately. "If at all possible, I think it might be important to talk to Blaise as well. Makes me almost wish I had listened to the Sorting Hat when it said I would do well in Slytherin now, as I can not protect Blaise or Bellatrix. She was in Slytherin, right?" Narcissa nodded. "Dammit. I will do my best, however." Narcissa smiled at him in thanks. "How will she stay hidden?"

"Bellatrix always had Metamorphagus abilities. Not as much as my niece Nymphadora, sadly, but enough to change her face enough to appear older and younger than she truthfully was, and her hair and eyes. It was always useful to her, as she could look old enough to get into the nightclubs we used to frequent, as I had the Veela charm to get myself in. She can look around your age, and from there, there isn't much anyone can do but speculate and think she looks slightly familiar.

"Severus knows, as will Dumbledore when Severus leaves, and all of the other teachers will simply be told that her transfer could not be helped, seeing as her parents were killed, and they had been purebloods who wouldn't support the Dark Lord." Harry nodded. "Now get back out there to that party of yours. I may come out for a dance in a bit, but for now I must contact a few people, young Demon Lord.

Harry raised an eyebrow at this, before he smiled and stood, heading out and calling someone. A moment later, Kyoto wandered in. And as he did, Narcissa stared as him in moderate shock. "This…is this…"

"Hola!" Kyoto spoke with some pep in his voice. Harry smiled, turning to leave Narcissa to speak to Kyoto. He headed out and ran up the stairs to Blaise's room, and walked in and made sure the door was closed behind him. Blaise sat on the bed, and Harry hopped on next to her and explained what had been said. In the process, Bellatrix had come out. She was far from dressed, actually quite naked in fact, and stood there listening to the news of her return to Hogwarts. And with a screech, she ran over and tackled him in a hug.

And there he sat, with her hugging him. Harry was staring over at Blaise in complete shock, looking for help, but the girl was laughing at his shocked face. And when Bellatrix made no sign to be in the process of moving, Harry was left sitting there in confusion with the naked Bellatrix on his lap. She looked at him, and as he looked at her, he watched as her face seemed to age backwards, and her hair drew in a curl, and her nose changed, to a smaller, button-like nose. Overall, she looked similar, but not enough to draw an immediate reaction to herself. She stood from Harry, and smiled, before she made to put on her old clothing, the articles in question were in bad shape.

Harry muttered to Blaise for a moment, before the girl stood and went over, taking Bellatrix into the closet. Harry had noticed the look in the woman's eyes, now a light brown color, that was hard to hide. A look of sadness, a need of approval, and a need to give reason for this approval. If Harry had asked her to jump off of the house and go to the ground headfirst, in exchange for just a bit more of his forgiveness, she would have climbed up on the roof.

-----

Having stood outside the door for some time, Harry watched as the door opened and out walked Blaise, and behind her, Bellatrix. The latter had her deep colored hair tied back, with strands falling to her face, just enough so that she could feel like she could hide behind her hair if need be. She was dressed in simple jeans and a white button-up shirt, which had the sleeves rolled up.

"Is that…my shirt!" Harry asked, mocking a scandalized tone. Blaise smiled, and Bellatrix raised the shirt some to her face, and inhaled into the shirt. She smiled, and Harry smiled back gently. He took Blaise's hand, and walked in between the two girls. Both were shorter than him by around the same amount, Bellatrix just slightly taller.

"Uh…Bellatrix…"

"Bella." She said slowly. "Please…all of my friends used to call me it. That or 'Bunny', something I never understood at all." Harry snickered, realizing the reference to the Muggle cereal quickly.

"Bella, I don't know how this is all going to work out, but we will try and look out for you as much as we can. I do not know how much I can do, especially considering the fact that I am directly targeted by this 'Dark Lord' as they call him, and in a different house than you two, but I will see what I can do." Bella nodded and smiled weakly.

She stopped walking and sighed. "Harry…I know how much I have done to you. And Narcissa says it's not my fault, because of the curse, but it was because I couldn't fight it. And I am so sorry, for all the things I did and the people I hurt." She was quiet for a moment, before looking up at him. "For years, I couldn't fight it. And I find myself stuck in the mindset of a teenager even as a woman of my age. I am not used to thinking on my own…I don't know what to say or how to act so much of the time.

"Hell, for the first year of our 'marriage' as it was called, I wasn't allowed to wear clothes in the presence of the monster who called himself my husband, or whenever he had company. If it was important…I had to…'entertain' them, if he thought it would help his dealings." Here the tears fell. "And it hurts because I was so out of sync. I didn't want to do any of that, I didn't want any part of it, under any circumstances, but I just, just wasn't strong enough. And I have all the memories of what I have done in me, but it almost seems like it wasn't me." She was on the verge of breaking down, and her voice got weaker and more pained as she spoke. Her knees were shaking and looked about ready to give out.

"As far as I am concerned right now…that was not you. That was Bellatrix Lestrange…And right now…you are Bella. Just Bella." And Harry grabbed her to him, and held her to his chest. She began to cry harder and harder, and as they stood like that, Blaise standing beside Harry and Bella, rubbing the girl's back, and gazing between the two, smiling. She mouthed "You're doing the right thing" as there was the sound of someone coming up the stairs. Blaise looked panicked, but Harry shook his head. He could feel the feeling Narcissa gave off in him when she was around.

She came up looking flustered, and fanning herself. She looked at her sister and sighed, as the cleansing tears of years of darkness in her life spilled. Narcissa moved and took her sister, where they sat on the ground and comforted each other, while Harry and Blaise were sent down the stairs. He held her hand as they headed down the stairs. After more dancing, in which Harry danced with Blaise's mum more times than he thought he would, did some weird dancing with Hermione again, and a lot of flailing with Daphne, Blaise reappeared and whispered something to her mother.

Everyone was then ushered into the room to eat. There was a lot of fun there, as Harry was sat at the head of the table, and everyone ate and had fun. Where Ron seemed to try and look more restrained as he ate, that all went to hell when Harry got into a speed-eating contest with Blaise with the ice cream they had snuck from the dessert area half-way through the meal. Harry had won, and Blaise had sunk into the chair with an ice-cream headache that left her slurring words for a good 5 minutes.

And as he sat there, gloating in this, suddenly there was the ominous shout of "Presents!" that heralded bad things. Many bad things. And as they headed to the presents area, it seemed there were more presents than people there, and it was reported that many people sent their presents to him. He opened the usual jumper and cake from Mrs. Weasley, who was unable to attend due to Order business for her at the time. He placed it to the side, with a thanks directed toward the Weasleys there.

As he reached for another, he saw that it was from Ron. He laughed loudly as he opened the box to see, on the top, a piece of parchment connected to a string of twine that had, written on it, simply, "Keep the Bloody Hell Out." It looked to be meant to hand on the door handle. Harry nodded to his friend, before moving the sign and finding some Chocolate Frogs there, and sitting on the top of them, was the "Harry Potter Chocolate Frog Card."

Two of them actually. One of them had the original factory wording, describing the "accomplishments" that seemed the most important to "The-Boy-Who-Lived" and not Harry. And on the other one, handwritten in Ron's handwriting, was a different description. Something a lot more personal.

Beneath a Colin Creevy Picture, Harry recognized it as one of the boy's, was a different description.

_Harry James Potter. _

_Born July 31, 1980-whenever the hell he feels like dying._

_Also known as: Heron, Youngest-Seeker-in-a-Century, The-Boy-Who-Won't-Die, "Birdy-Boy"_

_Harry Potter's accomplishments include: Breaking more rules at Hogwarts than any other student in history on his own, Dating the hottest Slytherin in Hogwarts recent history, Pissing Severus Snape off to no extent just by living, And being the first Weasley to ever not have red hair._

Harry looked at his friend, on the verge of tearing up slightly. It was incredibly thoughtful of him, and there was still a bit left, which Ron urged him to read before making any comments.

_His interests include: Flying on his Firebolt, Leading the Gryffindors to continuous, consecutive, Quidditch Cups, Dancing, Getting on the aforementioned Snape's nerves, Shocking the world, Hanging out with his two Bestest friends in the world; Hermione and Ron, and snogging the hell out of his girlfriend in public places where just anyone could walk in…_

_We love ya, mate! –Ron_

Harry stared at his friend, before standing from the table, and embracing his friend in a one-armed hug. Blaise did the same, only it was a full hug, and then the redheaded boy was showered with hugs from all the weeping girls in the room, crying at the thoughtfulness of the entire gesture.

Moving to another gift, he looked inside to find a glossy material. Taking it out, he stared in shock. There in his hands was what appeared to be a leather long-coat of some kind. He stared at it in shock, and held it up, as if asking for an explanation. "It's from Padma and me." Parvati said. "Lavender threw in for the added features, like the holster for your wand in the arm and length charm, but she got you something of her own."

"I…I can't. It's too much…"

"Shut up." Padma said. She hadn't spoken much to him, but was smiling to him brightly. "It was something our parents really didn't mind much, and you helping Parvati with the Defense OWL, they felt it was worth it. I am the mentally grounded one, as they say, while Parvati is a lot more abstract and…'artistic' as they call it. You helping her to the point that she was able to do as well as she felt she did was…very helpful. And besides, we all know that _He_ is after you. So no point not excepting it."

"What is it?" He felt very ignorant asking, but the leather was a deep black, with a feel to it he didn't recognize.

"Wyvern leather." At the gasps, Padma smiled. "The family has a lot of stock in the preserves for them, and the ranches, and the leader of the pack was recently killed by another, for control. He was the strongest the reserve had ever seen, and could rarely be brought down by the entire staff. He had a weak spot on him that was exploited that got him killed, but that spot was not put into this jacket." At the group's raised eyebrows, she smiled and blushed slightly.

"She has been working at the preserve since school let out. She saw all of this happen, and was responsible for the materials, while I…did the designing."

"You designed this!" Harry near shouted in shock. Parvati nodded meekly. Harry stood, and held it up. It was beautiful, and had none of the normal reactions of leather. It made no sound, and rarely stuck or anything. It had a bright sheen to it, as well as a nice texture, but it moved as if it was made from a harder cotton almost. He placed it on, and was shocked to feel it adjust to fit him perfectly, hanging to just above his boots. And he was even more shocked to find that it had a hood that covered his face perfectly. He damn near looked intimidating to them with the hood up, the ominous figure he was casting.

He ran over and gave Padma and Parvati huge hugs, lifting them from the ground and spinning them around in his arms. They laughed as he kissed each on the cheek and thanked them many times, before taking it off and folding it gingerly back into the box. They laughed at this. "It's wyvern leather, Harry. It won't rip or tear or anything, not just because of the material it is made, but the enchantments and such on it makes it damn near indestructible. Don't quote me on it, but I think the only thing stronger is Dragon, and that might not even be true in some cases. Besides, dragonhide doesn't move. It's like a damned board…" Parvati trailed off. Harry smiled, before being given the next box, which he was told was Lavender's.

Blaise leaned over and whispered to Harry, "You know, these gifts are interesting. You have some very good friends, babe. I hope that they can become mine as well." He smiled and she kissed him on the cheek, as Harry geared up to open Lavender's present.

"Hermione called me and let me know that you had gotten rid of the glasses, so I went through with grabbing a pair of sunglasses before I came here. The real gift, though, is under them." Harry found a pair of nice black sunglasses. They were not exceedingly expensive, and suited his needs, and seemed to be nice and sturdy. Underneath the glasses, was a book. It had enchantment runes on the cover, and next to them, and small case. Harry looked in confusion, and then looked to the cover and read. And as he did, his jaw fell more and more.

Lavender explained to everyone. "The book it on Enchanting things. It is minor-leveled, some on runing, some on scripting. The book below it, I Enchanted to be somewhat of a practice journal for enchanting. And in the case, there is a set of Enchanter's Pencils, Quills, Charcoals and such." Hermione looked in shock at the girl she had known for years. She knew little about the girl's family, as she rarely spoke on them. "My mother has been training me in Enchanting since I was small. Somewhat of a new family tradition, more of a hobby to make sure I was magical, unlike my sister, and it kind of stuck. Thought it might be a nice thing for Harry to do, get his mind off of everything going on around him, while at the same time, training to fight in the end.

"The ability to Enchant things can be a good combat technique, as some of the more powerful Enchanters back in magical wars could do them on soldier's armor to make them less vulnerable, make them more accurate, that such thing. Might be a good thing for Harry to learn. It can only help I figured. Thought it would be a nice thing to share a bit of me with him like he shared his abilities with us. Hope you can get some use out of it." Lavender trailed off at the end, almost unsure. She looked to Parvati, who smiled at her, making motions to ensure her friend that Harry would like the gift. They both looked to Harry, who was staring down at the books and supplies in front of him. When he looked up, he smiled brightly at Lavender.

"Thank you for sharing some of yourself with me. I promise you, barring unforeseen circumstances, when school starts again, I will work on this with you, and we can have some fun. Thank you for giving me this part of you." He stood and walked over, hugging Lavender as well, and kissing her on the cheek as well. The girl giggled and smiled to Parvati, happy the boy had liked her gift.

Next up seemed to be Susan Bones. She smiled gently at him, her long blonde hair was up in a high ponytail, and had dressed very well in muggle clothing as far as someone from a Wizarding family goes. Her gift was a mirror of some kind. She explained that it was a mirror called a Truth Mirror, and could see through most invisibility spells and potions, and badly made polyjuice as well as show some signs of mind-control and would show very big lies someway. He thanked her, and she smiled meekly. She was grasping the hand of Hannah Abbott, who sat next to her.

The latter girl had given Harry a kit to polish his wand, as well as a book on under-used curses and spells, that fell out due to "better" spells, as well as more abstract magic. It was a rarely read book, as some spells would specialize on petrifying a person's arm, something no one would do if they could just petrify the whole person with a "simpler" spell. But the spells were so abstract that their defenses, and specific counter-spells were rarely known.

Harry thanked them both deeply, hugging the two, but not kissing either, as Hannah and Susan were still holding hands, even during the hugs, and it almost seemed possessive. Taking a seat, he received some assorted candy goods from Dean, and also in the box was what looked to be a soccer jersey, in gold and red. The word "Gryffindor" was across the front, and the number 1 under it, and on the back, above the 1 on the back, was the name "Potter." It was obvious this was a custom jersey, and he thanked his friend deeply, and placed that too back in the box.

Next up, was apparently Snape, something that shocked and confused everyone in the room. "This, Potter, is for your current handling of the situations going on around you." Was written on the card, and Harry sighed, and nodded to the man, before opening the small box. And inside, was a bowl. And on a card on top of the bowl, it read, "Pocket Penseive." He thanked the man, not showing the card to anyone, as Snape had written on the back, that it contained a few good memories the man had of Harry's parents, as Snape had been a witness to the boy's parents deciding to date, and other such memories.

The next thing he was given was a small box, and many around the table were smiling. Before he could open it, Dean began speaking. "This is a present from the DA. It's a little something that was drafted off of an idea Hermione had last year, and we got in contact with Fred and George." The girl in question's face paled significantly, and the box began to shake. "Basically, they are small balls, similar to grenades, that give off a pulse of magic that targets the residue of dark magic and traces it back to the source, and causes enough pain to generally immobilize the dark wizards long enough for them to be stunned." The box was rattling, and Hermione was effectively choking. She started to talk, but Parvati placed her hand over the girl's mouth, saying she would ruin the surprise. Lavender helped to stop Hermione from speaking, as the girl struggled more and more. Snape was edging to the door slowly.

"How many are in there?" Snape demanded. He had heard of these devices in an Order meeting, and the idea was sound, but dangerous to him, so he had been told. One of them could probably slow Snape himself down for a bit, but he would be able to stand it long enough to apparate away. However…

"Around 20 or so." Susan said, with an angry and indignant undertone to her voice.

"Shit." Snape said deeply. He growled out "Idiots. Its not just dark magic. Its dark anything!" And with that, there was a harsh shaking from the box, and Harry was getting a stinging through his hands. The box fell, as the realization hit.

Turning, he took off from the room. Blaise came to it moments later and went after him. Hermione followed. Harry bolted up the stairs. Between Kyoto, Bellatrix, Snape, and Harry himself, and the amount of power Harry was figuring was in the box they had handed him…He was looking at death. If not his, then someone else's.

Grabbing Bellatrix up in his arms, and Kyoto and Narcissa following, Harry jumped down the stairs and ran out of the house. Kyoto was following, Narcissa after him, and Snape bringing up the rear. Hermione was left to explain to everyone, as they all ran into one of the smaller houses on the property, and Blaise ran with them, opening the door, and they all went in.

"What was that all about?" Dean asked. And then the orbs all rattled powerfully and exploded outward from the box. The wave of pure gray energy, rippling from the box for a good few seconds and all over the house, through walls like a ghost, and finally out of their line of sight, as the energy passed through the walls out to the property outside. But the effects of the energy were still apparent.

"What was that all about, Hermione?" Lavender shouted in indignation. "Didn't he like our gift?"

Hermione sighed. "It's not that. Let's just say that, Harry, as well as a few of our guests could have been…frankly, killed, by that gift."

"But it only hurts dark wizards!" Hannah protested.

"No. It targets all things with a signature reminiscent of what the Ministry calls "dark" or classifies that way. Do you know what it would have done to Professor Snape? It probably would have killed him."

"Damned Death Eater!" Hannah muttered, but was silenced at the look Susan gave her. It was all dawning on her and Padma as time passed.

"So is Harry a Death Eater?" Padma asked, looking slightly angry. Everyone shook their heads. "Exactly. Now, the question is, what made it so that it hurt him. Either he ha…the scar!" And Padma smiled and nodded. They had come to their conclusion, even if it was wrong, Hermione had no intention of telling them so. "It was made by the darkest magic. It could have killed him!"

Everyone sighed, before they all realized that the damper put on was great, but eventually all left on good graces, asking to be brought back from the Burrow where they all went when the energy died down and Harry came back. Their parting left Hermione there with Ron, Ginny, Daphne, Parvati and Padma. Ginny was crying, and Ron helped her to the fireplace and took her home, before coming back. Then they all made the venture outside, realizing the energy had yet to dissipate from the house, as it was slowly trickling out. Once at the small house, they all found Harry sitting in the front of the house. Kyoto was holding a large metal case in one hand, and was putting it on the table in front of Harry when they all walked in.

Harry didn't open it, and smiled at them all. Padma sat there, looking at him for a moment, before tracing the very faint scar on his forehead. "What happened that this is so pale now? He comes back and it goes away?" Harry smiled at her softly. She traced it again, and then seemed to draw her hand back sharply. Harry looked at her oddly, and she smiled weakly. "Sorry. Just…had a very weird feeling. Thought I heard something I don't think I did." She smiled weakly before they all spoke for a bit longer. And upon feeling the burden off of him, they all headed back to the house.

Harry was caught holding Bella's hand in his own, while he gave a piggy-back ride to a once-again playful Blaise, and got some ribbing about having somewhat of a triangle relationship, something that no one seemed very worried about at all, as he assumed they might be upon seeing the three. And he realized that that was the way to protect Bella. People knowing that messing with the girl would not only get Blaise on them, but Harry as well, was better than one or the other. He reminded himself to talk to the two about the idea.

As they entered they house, they found Jamie dancing to the music she had put on, and soon they were all dancing, Kyoto with Jamie, and Harry lost in the many girls around him. Bella was even dancing. Narcissa and Snape strutted a waltz during a more down-toned song, and they had fun. Hermione called back some of the others, and the party was back in full swing.

As they awaited Luna's arrival, as the girl had just returned from a trip, and said she would be coming by at around 3, they got an unexpected arrival. As Harry was dancing with Narcissa, who should come through the fireplace yet again,

But Draco Malfoy.

-----


	13. Chapter 12

**FFOmega**

Part I: Bitter-Sweet Dreams

Chapter 12

Draco stood there as the music stopped as he came out. And he looked up to see everyone looking down at him. Standing, he looked to his mother immediately. "Mother, I have been searching everywhere for you. What have you been doing! We were supposed to be working on the revisions for some of my assignments today, and I use the locator spell in the earrings I gave you, and find you here?" He seemed mildly outraged, and also thoroughly shocked.

"Do not concern yourself with my affairs, young man. I will do as I please, as I am a grown woman. Now, if you please, either return to the Manor, or get off your prissy trip and have a dance." And then cuing the music again, Narcissa continued her dance with Harry.

Draco stood in shock, and was in such a state that he didn't realize that, during the entire talk, Luna had stumbled in. Nor did many others, as the girl had appeared and shaken off the soot and had simply stood to the side. Seeing no one moving to dance with Draco, she grabbed his arm, and began to dance with him. At first he was appalled, but the drivingly addictive rhythms got to him, and he found himself soon immersed in the dancing with the other blonde. Luna was too far spaced out at the time to really care about who she was dancing with, but aware enough to smack him in the head once, fairly hard, when his hands began roaming a bit too much.

When Harry made no issue about his enemy being there, no one else did. However, what freaked Neville out was when he saw a girl moving to the beat alone, and moved to dance with her, and she acquiesced and began to dance with him. Neville had recently began to question many things, but knew a pretty girl when he saw one. She wasn't his immediate type, as she wasn't Ginny Weasley, but she was pretty and he was dancing with her, and not making an ass of himself.

And as he looked into her eyes, he felt a draw from deep with him. Like he had seen those eyes. At another point in his life, he had seen them, and they had been burned into him. Not the eyes so much in color, shape or anything physical, but the nature behind them, the person behind them. However, he reasoned, there was no way he could have met her before, so he shrugged it off and continued to dance. And the song changed and people changed partners.

Harry found himself dancing with Blaise. He told her his idea, and she nodded her approval, knowing that if Bella opened up to anyone, it would be Harry. She was fine if the romantic displays were non-existent between her and Bella, if they weren't needed or anything, and understood that they couldn't be avoided between Harry and Bella. Overall she approved, and then shut Harry up with a solid 2 songs of making out in the middle of the dance floor. When the separated, Harry went to go dance with Bella.

As he did, he spoke the idea, and then that Blaise had agreed, and Harry felt it might keep her even safer. Bella almost cried again, before agreeing and thanking him. He leaned down and kissed her lightly on the forehead before stepping back and smiling down at her as they danced. He locked eyes with Blaise, and nodded, and Blaise caught Bella's eyes and smiled brightly at her. Blaise herself was dancing with Padma actually, and both having a great time about it, switching back and forth between one acting as the "guy" during the dance and the other the girl, and then switching, laughing all the while.

Draco Malfoy had actually gotten a dance out of Parvati. Harry could tell, oddly, because he noticed small differences between the two twins, even though they had dressed exactly alike for what seemed the express purpose of confusing people. However, Parvati seemed to smell of apple blossoms, faerie dust and ginger, while Padma smelled more of cinnamon tea mixed with the refreshing scent of cedar or pine.

When the music paused for a moment, Harry worked Bella over toward Draco, and began speaking to him. "Where's my present, eh, Draco?"

Draco actually looked flabbergasted at this. "Draco? Since when have you called me that, Potter?"

"Since I figured I hate your father more than I hate you. So he deserves to be called 'Malfoy' more than you at this point. Besides, you are at my party, dancing with my friends. I was dancing with your mother a bit ago, no need for old unpleasantness for the time being. Just came to ask if you were having fun, and why you stayed."

"I stayed because I have nothing better to do, truthfully. I was going to do some revisions on school work. Nothing more. And since you have stolen my mother away and everything, I could not do them on my own, and unlike you, I do not have know-it-all friends. I am the smartest person in my group of friends." He seemed almost resentful. Harry didn't like the boy, but was connecting things better than before. The boy was raised to hate the things he hated, because he obviously had no connections to Muggles or Muggleborns, so it was all unfounded hate. And Harry figured, he could at least try and give the little blonde bastard some showing of the good of the other side, a nice view of the other side, and if he was still being an ass, then it would be clear it was of his own accord.

"Is this supposed to make us friends, Potter?" Draco asked. He almost seemed scared of the answer.

"I doubt it, who knows. We'll figure it out, I suppose. Doesn't matter. Regardless, I am dating Blaise right now, and if all things go as I feel they will, I will be spending a good deal of time around some Slytherins. So we are going to have to at least work out some kind of working relationship, as I refuse to get into some kind of verbal sparring match with you every time I go to see someone. Maybe something mutually…beneficial." Harry said this as he tracked the blonde's eyes to Lavender, who was dancing alone. Whispering something to Bella, who had stayed silent during the whole dance/conversation, the girl walked off, and Harry took Parvati, and then waved Lavender over.

Draco had been watching the girl who was dancing alone, as there were more girls than guys at the time. Harry smiled as Neville was dancing with Ginny again, and Dean was dancing with Luna and laughing like old friends. Lavender began dancing with Draco, due to Harry's insistence, and soon Harry was leaving to go to the girls in his life. Hermione, Blaise, and Bella were all sitting to the side, talking. Hermione had been told all about Bella's story, and this lead to Bella crying silently again.

Harry came over and sat down on the floor with them, and Blaise helped place Bella in Harry's lap, as she continued crying. Blaise leaned over and pressed her lips to Harry in a soul-searing kiss that made Hermione fan herself as she watched, before Blaise stood to go off to her mother, who had gotten a hold of Neville, and had the boy about ready to pass out from the sensual dancing of the woman before him.

"Harry…I'm proud of you. The maturity of this all, all of these decisions, it's admirable. And I can _feel_ it coming from you. This change. And I felt it before all of that," she glanced around to make sure they wouldn't be overheard, "_Demon_ stuff. I can feel it. This is all you, and I thank you for this. It was hard being the only reasonable one in our group. Now it's what, 2 to 3?" Then Hermione smiled as Harry was running his hand along Bella's back. "Well, more like Ron is the minority now. But Daphne is good for him. They work." They looked and saw Ron and Daphne both doing incredibly dumb dances that looked very endearing with them doing it together as they were. "And Blaise is good for you."

She was silent for some time, and Harry sighed. "And what about you, Hermione. What's good for you? When do you put me behind you in priorities? Its like, it comes in order, your schooling is before, followed by me, and all the other problems in your life..."

"You aren't a problem." She interrupted him, then she grinned playfully, "And neither is my schooling, Mr. Potter."

Harry smiled, shaking his head while chuckling before becoming serious again. "Off the subject, and you know it. When are you going to come first? What do you want to do with yourself, Hermione. I want to know."

The girl smiled solemnly, sighing gently as she sat back some. "When we had career counseling this last year, with McGonagall, you know what I said I wanted to be for a career? 'Harry's friend.' That is my career choice. Being there for you when you need me is the most important thing to me right now."

"But why…"

"Harry, when this is all over, I can think about that. I love you. Not sure how right now, but I know that above all, you are my priority. You are my best friend, and I feel either brotherly love for you, or something else. And either way, I am going to be with you until the end."

"Hermione…you can't put me over your happiness."

Here Hermione laughed. "Harry…being with you and Ron over the years, that has been my happiness. Even in the middle of a scary adventure, saving a convicted mass murderer while surrounded by werewolves and creatures that eat souls, the like, something illegal and scary as hell, that makes me happy. Because my whole life, I never got that. My parents are dentists, Harry! My idea of fun is reading Hogwarts: A History again and looking for typos! Being with you all is the kind of fun I need. If nothing more than to make sure I don't become sime tired old had with nothing but my books and my multitude of felines to keep me company, and only the stories I've read printed on paper by others who actually lived them with which to live vivariously through."

Harry looked at his friend, and knew she was determined. And he nodded once, resolutely, at her. She repeated the action and a ghost of a smile appeared on both of their lips.

Bella's tears stopped soon after the conversation ended, and the 3 of them stood up. Bella wandered off to find Blaise, and Hermione wrapped her arms around Harry's neck as a slow song began. "So, living every man's fantasy and having 2 girlfriends that know about each other. How does it feel?" Hermione asked. Harry laughed heartily.

"I don't know. Truthfully, it wasn't really my dream. But I'm not the most normal of people, now am I?" They shared a laughed over Harry's "abnormality" and danced some more. "At the moment, Hermione, you are one of the few women I trust completely. One of the few _people_ I trust. I need you with me. My older sister at times. My conscience at others. And even at times, as someone I am scared to disappoint. I need you, Hermione, and if you are there for me or not, I'll be there for you. That goes for Ron too, but I don't think I could be having this conversation in this setting with him, as the situation might make Daphne jealous." Here they laughed, easing some of the tension.

"You and everyone who know about the change, don't know how much it means to me that you all didn't go running off because of the whole Demon thing. Thanks." And he hugged her, before being pulled away to dance with Lavender. Halfway through the dance, he ended up dancing with her and Parvati at once, and then he was dancing with Padma.

He found her a very pleasant person, and every bit as commanding over the male body as her sister, but with an understated elegance to it. She wasn't the type to walk up and start grinding herself on someone, instead she would be the type to draw a guy into a conversation, and even as they spoke about something, she would ease her way into dancing with him, and soon it would get to the point that his brain shut down halfway through, while they were talking about a subject the guy knew a lot about. Harry knew from personal experience, finding himself at a loss for words in a conversation about Quidditch as the dancing died down for some ice cream outside.

Soon the party was over, and everyone not stayed the night lined up at the fireplace, the girls all giving Harry kisses on the cheek and the guys hearty slaps on the back, before the room was empty outside of Harry, Bella, Blaise and Hermione. With a tired smile, Harry climbed the stairs up to Blaise's room, where he passed out on the bed. Blaise did the same, and Hermione went into the guest room, leaving Bella to Harry's old room.

Halfway through the night, however, she awoke, and Harry could hear the whimpering and the slight screams, as she had just awoken. He went into the room, lifted her form and carried her into the room with him and Blaise, and got in, laying to the outside behind Blaise, and placing Bella in front of Blaise, so both of them could reach her.

And that night, Bella Black, formerly Bellatrix Lestrange got the best sleep she had ever had since her time at Hogwarts.

-----

Hermione stayed at the house for the few days until Harry's actual birthday, as the party couldn't be had on his actual birthday as the OWL letters came. Harry awoke on his birthday and walked down the stairs, to find Bella sitting at a table reading through the notebooks Harry recognized as Hermione's present to Blaise, while Kyoto and Blaise were in the room with all other furniture cleared out. Blaise was watching Kyoto, as the white-haired Demon was doing some kind of movements.

"So let me get this straight. A straight kick to the stomach bends the other person over. An immediate knee to the nose followed by a leg-sweep and a stomp to the sternum?"

"Yes. And if they are not staggering after the knee, then hit them under the jaw with either a punch or a high kick, depending on how tall they are, and which you think will do more damage."

Harry wandered in, and looked around. "What's going on? Teaching my girlfriend here how to effectively kick my ass?"

"Not just yours, but anyone taller than her. A few moves for when you are fighting someone bigger, in both senses, than you." Kyoto replied, while stretching his back. "That was the last one now that you are awake. I was just staying around long enough to drop off your present, and then I have to be on my way." This entire statement sounded grave, before, once again he pulled out the large metal case. Harry was glad Hermione had gone home, because as the energy was projected, he could literally feel Demonic energy from the box, and he didn't need Hermione trying to analyze that at the current time.

He opened the box, and there was a long black sword. The hieroglyphs on the bottom of the blade were pulsating a gray color, and the curve in the blade caught the light just perfectly to let a deadly glint to the blade. Lifting it, he felt an aura from the blade, and the very energy of the weapon seemed to melt into him. The blade got significantly lighter, enough that he could use it with one hand should he need to, and wield it with considerable power with both.

"Wha…"

"It's a little something I made." Kyoto said, smiling.

"How? It's…I…it's a Demon!"

"Remember how we made the setting for Blaise's gifts? And how we have been working with Blaise's…yeah? Well, that's how."

Harry stared down at the sword, before looking to Kyoto again. "What am I supposed to do with this though? I can't carry around a sword at all times, especially a sword that was a Demon. And what will I need a sword for?"

"Who knows? Not I, that's for sure. But let me tell you one thing, Harry. This is war. And a lot of people are going to try to use you for their own purposes, even people you wouldn't expect. And a lot of people can stand to make money, and power, off of you depending on when and how this war is ended, so they will try and make it end in their own time and on their own terms. Eventually you are going to have to take it all in your own hands. And people are going to have to die. So, I figured I'd give you something to kill them with."

"But I don't know how to use a sword…"

"Then you had better start learning, I suppose, Little Brother. But I must go. Never could stay in one spot too long, even when I so longed to be there. Tell Jamie I said goodbye, and give her a handshake, or hug, or whatever you people do to say bye, Little Sis-In-Law." Here he was speaking to Blaise, and he walked by, grabbing up a simple black backpack. He put it on and then ruffled Blaise's hair for a moment. He turned to Harry, and hugged the boy tightly, and Harry hugged him back, wondering the next time he would get to see the man. "Be safe. Life is hell, and, lucky for you, you should get a lot more of it than everyone else you know. And if it gets too hard, and the bastards start getting on your back too much, I'll be there."

And with those words, Kyoto turned and left the house slowly, and before the door even closed all the way, he had started running, disappearing before the door even closed all the way.

Jamie pounded down the stairs and as she looked around, and saw Blaise and Harry standing there, staring at the door, and Bella looking around the room, looking fairly lost, she realized who was missing. And that he was gone.

Harry sighed and put the sword back in the case, before he slammed the top shut and then curled up on the couch and drifted off again.

-----

Footsteps.

He heard them again, and she was soon there. And she looked to Harry and sighed, before going to him and hugging him. Rocking him slowly, the both took a seat.

"The world is unfair to you, my love, I know it is. And truth be told, it is time it stopped being like that. But sadly, I can not promise that. Tough times are ahead, and with them…I do not want to be cliché, but what doesn't kill you here, is going to make you stronger."

Karma looked at Harry, before drawing him to her. She could feel the power in him, and the anger. "Yes Harry. Store the anger. Push it back. Feed that which is deep within you. Because the more you do, the sooner it is going to explode out of you. And when all dualities become one, that one is more powerful than either alone. But the question is if you want to deal with the repercussions."

And after some time of silence, she stood and walked away from him. And he heard the clicking of her feet walking from him, getting more faint by the second, and then he was alone.

"_You are never alone…"_

"…Who…Who are you!"

"_You may call me…Knight."_

"What are you doing in my head!"

"_Let's just say I live here. Kyoto's part of the reason I'm here."_

"Why would he do that? Are you some kind of power?"

"_I am more power than you could ever dream of. You as you are at the very least. Just know that, when everything gets too much, give control over to me. You will survive it, I promise."_

And then the presence was gone, and the darkness faded away.

-----

Harry awoke to Blaise stroking his hair. And there was the flapping of wings, and 3 owls came and dropped off the letters. And one of them was a snowy owl Harry himself recognized. It was Hedwig. He greeted his owl and smiled, before he took the letter addressed to him. It was a long letter, the length of the envelope the length of a regular length of parchment.

The OWLs.

_Ordinary Wizarding Levels_

_Results for Potter, Harry J._

_Course: Charms_

_Teacher: Filius Flitwick_

_Theory: Exceeds Expectation_

_Practical: Exceeds Expectation_

_Course: Transfiguration_

_Teacher: Minerva McGonagall_

_Theory: Exceeds Expectation_

_Practical: Exceeds Expectation_

_Course: Potions_

_Teacher: Severus Snape_

_Theory: Average_

_Practical: Exceeds Expectation_

_Course: Divination_

_Teacher: Sybil Trelawney/ Scorpius Firenze_

_Theory: Outstanding_

_Practical: Outstanding_

_Course: History of Magic_

_Teacher: Reginald Binns_

_Theory: N/A (due to circumstances)_

_Practical: N/A_

_Course: Astronomy_

_Teacher: Ellen Sinistra_

_Theory: Average_

_Practical: Average_

_Course: Care of Magical Creatures_

_Teacher: Rubeus Hagrid_

_Theory: Exceeds Expectation_

_Practical: Exceeds Expectation_

_Course: Defense Against the Dark Arts_

_Teacher: Dolores Umbridge_

_Theory: Outstanding_

_Practical: Spectacular_

_Total Ordinary Wizarding Levels: 10_

Harry stood, staring in complete and utter shock. He had heard that a 12 was the highest one could get, and that was what Voldemort himself had gotten as a student, and Harry was sure he wouldn't have gotten near that many OWLs.

He looked over to Blaise, who switched Papers with him.

_Ordinary Wizarding Levels_

_Results for Zabini, Blaise G._

_Course: Charms_

_Teacher: Filius Flitwick_

_Theory: Average_

_Practical: Exceeds Expectation_

_Course: Transfiguration_

_Teacher: Minerva McGonagall_

_Theory: Exceeds Expectation_

_Practical: Exceeds Expectation_

_Course: Potions_

_Teacher: Severus Snape_

_Theory: Outstanding_

_Practical: Outstanding_

_Course: Arithmancy_

_Teacher: Keily Graves_

_Theory: Outstanding_

_Practical: Exceeds Expectation_

_Course: History of Magic_

_Teacher: Reginald Binns_

_Theory: Exceeds Expectation_

_Practical: N/A_

_Course: Astronomy_

_Teacher: Ellen Sinistra_

_Theory: Average_

_Practical: Average_

_Course: Muggle Studies_

_Teacher: Brian Silver_

_Theory: Outstanding_

_Practical: Outstanding_

_Course: Defense Against the Dark Arts_

_Teacher: Dolores Umbridge_

_Theory: Exceeds Expectation_

_Practical: Exceeds Expectation_

_Total Ordinary Wizarding Levels: 9_

Harry smiled and both shared a hug. Looking to Bella, who seemed to have received her OWLs as a refresher, as well as a packet on who she was to be and everything. Seeing them looking at her, she replied, "I got 9." And then she went back to reading. "Apparently my cover story is that I am one of Sirius' relatives, who couldn't go to Hogwarts because of his illegal actions. Now that he has been cleared, I can go, and will be starting my 6th year. Have to go through the whole sorting, sadly, but its damned near guaranteed I end up in Ravenclaw."

"Ravenclaw…" Blaise asked.

"Yeah. I was in Slytherin, but more than likely I will be in Ravenclaw, that or Gryffindor. Dumbledore is going to want less things connecting me to my former self. Says right here. And I am not the Gryffindor type. And if I end up in Hufflepuff, someone dies."

Harry and Blaise laughed, before moving over to the table by Bella, to chose their classes. Harry saw from the score he got in potions, that he wasn't going to be able to be an Auror. And he voiced this, and then realized that, because of the prophecy, whenever the entire thing was rectified, he doubted he would want to be any type of law enforcement at all.

So he marked that he would be taking Transfiguration, Charms, Defense and Care. Blaise marked the same, outside of adding Arithmancy instead of Care, Muggle Studies was not offered, which made her frown, and Blaise also opted to take Potions as well, while Harry himself decided he had no want to, or an ability to, but placed that in his letter to the school, that if possible, he would be willing to be added to the class.

Bella took the classes Harry took, but chose to take Ancient Runes in addition. There seemed to be a class on something called "Light" magic offered as well the school, but Blaise's letter recommended she not take it, and Harry and Bella's outright told them they would be better off not learning, considering their dark nature.

Marking everything off, they went off on their own for the rest of the day, Bella continuing her reading, and Blaise heading up to the knife room to organize everything, as well as practice some in the training area, which she directed Harry to first. It was one of the smaller houses on the property, and upon entering, it was gutted, and just a large room basically.

There were enchanted wooden figures shaped as people that would regenerate body parts taken off when left alone for several seconds. Harry went with the sword, and began to attack to figure. And he found himself doing well, but also impressed with the weapon. It was hard as anything he had ever seen, and sharper than any blade he had seen before. Its Demonic energy would radiate, and Harry caught himself losing himself several times, and blinking almost as if regaining consciousness, to see the wooden structure destroyed almost past repair. One of the moments, he seemed to sink into his mind, and when he looked up again, the wooden opponent was laying in chunks of wooden before him, and even after a good deal of time, they didn't pull back together. And looking down at the wood, it seemed to be decaying slowly.

-----

Blaise wandered in, with two knives held in her hands, and she stared at Harry, and he held the smoking blade in his hand. His very body was smoking, and he was giving off pulses of dark energy that were making a ripple effect to the world around him. She walked over warily, walking around him so she could see his eyes.

They were closed, and his hand was holding the handle of the blade in a death grip. Suddenly, his eyes opened, bright green shimmering, and the smoking stopped. Harry didn't look at her, but dropped the weapon to the ground as if it all of a sudden burned him, and he stared down at it. He looked to his hands, seeing them just as they were before. But there was an energy to them. One not his own.

He had become accustomed to his personal Demonic Aura. His was a deep black, with slashes and mixes of sky blue throughout, something he didn't understand completely. Kyoto's was a deep, all-consuming black, that seemed just a bit darker than should have been possible. But there was something about the sword. He could feel the energy coming off of it. And he didn't like it very much. As much as Kyoto, and in some ways, he himself, signified darkness, this sword seemed like the embodiment of death. Or disease. Of sickness.

Staring at the weapon on the floor, Harry picked it up cautiously and walked by Blaise, nodding to her with a faint smile on his face. But it was a haunted smile. She followed him at a run as she saw the destroyed wooden figure. He watched as he placed the sword on top of his trunk and went over to the bed. He got in and pulled the comforter over his head. She dropped the weapons she was carrying and ran over to him. She jumped into the bed to find him with his back to her. Wrapping her arms around him and scooting closer to him from behind him, she grasped his hand, and kissed his cheek.

-----

"What can I do for you…" his body language was that of someone who did not care regardless of the answer. He was actually hanging by the back of his knees from a stoplight, doing sit-ups. But she persisted anyways.

"Who are you? What are you. I want to know what that night a while back was all about." She stared up at him as he folded up from his dangling sit-ups and grabbed on either side of his legs with his hands. He pulled himself up to sit on the light, facing away from her.

"Does it matter?" He swung back incredibly quickly all of a sudden and flipped backwards off the light. He landed with his back to the woman, but he didn't land in a crouch, instead, he landed standing straight up. "Because regardless, the next time you go hunting me down like this, I _will_ kill you. Which is a shame, since you are sexy as hell in that leather cat-suit you seem to find the need to wear."

All this was said while he wasn't looking at her. And when he turned around to look at her, she saw the veins all along the left side of his face visible and pulsing. He was paler than she had seen him before, and there was dried blood coming from under the sunglasses he wore that almost gave the appearance of him crying blood.

Maternal instinct caused her to gasp and reach out. He was in pain, that was clear, but as she made to touch him, he seethed and flinched back from her touch. "Do not touch me. Ever." Were his words. They were pain-filled, but there was some other tone underneath.

"What the hell happened to you?" She was asking that, but knew he wouldn't answer. And he didn't. He turned from her, and his hair slapped into her face.

She grabbed a hold of his hair, and pulled his head back so his back was bent nearly parallel to the ground and he was looking up at her. "You bastard. Do not turn your back on me like I will not kill you. I show a bit of concern for you, and you turn away from me like that. Remember, I was in a position to make your life forfeit. And if you forget that, you will die."

Suddenly he was standing and her scythes were to her own neck. "Look, bitch. I don't give a quarter of a shit what life you forfeit, it will not be mine. Do not think you know me, and do not give me that mothering shit. I didn't have one, and at my age, I don't need one."

"Your age. Ha! Don't give me that, 'I'm a grown-up' shit. Fucking 20-something half-breed I bet." He dropped her weapons to the ground and turned away from her.

"20 years ago, I was living in Kyoto, Japan. 200 years ago I was in a holding facility for mental patients in this accursed country, 2,000 years ago I was a thief throughout the Roman Empire. I am one of the oldest damned Demons this side of Hell itself, and I am perfectly capable of killing you. I don't want to. But don't mistake me. I will. And if you keep poking, a…_darker_ side of my personality might be less inclined to mercy." and he added as almost an afterthought as he turned from her, "If he even knows the meaning of the word..."

He began to walk off. However, suddenly there was a cackling laughter. And a thin figure dropped from some unseen location. The figure landed and furthermore moved in a crouched, languid position, moving slowly almost like a jungle cat on its fists and feet.

But slowly "it" stood, revealing incredibly long claws, more than a foot in length, and very clown-like attire, with a gothic edge to it. Instead of frilly parts on the clothing, there were spikes and atop the head of the creature was a jester's hat that looked incredibly sharp and dangerous in its own right. Standing, "it" might have been of moderate height, if not on the slightly short end of the spectrum, and was in no way imposing physically.

As "it" stretched to an unnatural angle, bending backwards perfectly in the middle, it cut the image of a nightmarish clown. And as "it" stood, "it" smiled. "Darkness…it _has_ been a long time, old friend, and I fear it shall be much longer in fact. For it is time that you die." It sounded rehearsed, but even so, said as if mocking the lines themselves.

"It's Kyoto now, my dear sweet Irony." Kyoto spoke. And it took Lulu a moment, but she placed it. There was smile in his voice, and she realized that the "creature" she was seeing was, in fact, female. "Its been a while, Rony, it has."

"You know, in thousands of years, you are the only one I let get away with calling me that. And, babe, it has been a while. I suppose it is time we get this over with. I do, after all, have that Key you need so badly. You seem to be on a bad run, eh lover? First your sister, and now me? That has to suck. Well, I always loved being in your hands, hopefully I'll be able to die in them tonight, let that be my last moment on earth, if at all possible, alright Angel?" Kyoto winced at being called "Angel", but smiled nonetheless. She walked over to him and literally nuzzled his neck like a cat before pulling back and standing on her tip-toes and kissing his bottom lip. Turning and walking a distance away from him, there was a sadness in her eyes as she smiled weakly once more before her face got stony and hard as she began to bounce on her feet, ready for a fight.

He nodded slowly, before cracking the knuckles in his hands and then mimicking the backbend that the woman had done only not to the extreme she took it, before putting his hands down and going into a slow back-flip. And, breathing deeply, he stepped back into a sideways fighting position Lulu recognized as the basic fighting form to Tae Kwon Do.

And "Rony" attacked first. Running forward with a weird light style that was incredibly fast and light on the feet, she rushed him. And leaping into the air, she spun around in a circle with her arms out, and then slashed down at him. Kyoto jumped backwards in a much faster flip, and leveled a fast kick out as soon as he landed. The woman did a no-handed cartwheel over his kick, which he altered in mid-flight and brought back the other way. She grabbed his leg and pushed off of it to leap over him. The literal milli-second she landed, her leg was out to leg-sweep him. It seemed like she had tried to kick a wall, as he didn't moved, and he spun around to kick her face.

As he did, however, she lashed out with her hands, and slashed into his chest before jumped over his body, her vertical leap more than her very height, even his, seemingly. She laid a kick to his lower back that sent him forward. He recovered, rolling into a somersault, but laid there, staring up at the dark sky, holding his stomach. Lulu listened closer, he seemed to be arguing with himself.

Instead of pursuing the attack, the woman known as Rony made her way over to Lulu. "Are you the new woman in his life?"

Shaking her head, Lulu looked at the woman in front of her. Her eyes were a crystal blue, and her vibrant red hair was visible in wisps under her maniacally deep green, black and vivid, blood red spiked hat. She seemed pretty, was it not for what seemed to be vivid attempts to tone that down by herself, with the make-up she wore and the clothing that seemed to literally downplay the good things about her body.

"And you were?" Lulu asked. The woman's speed was impressive, and the claws were glinting sharply. She assumed that this Rony was a Demon as well, but she wasn't overly impressed. What Lulu was, was concerned that Kyoto had yet to get up.

"Yes, I was. And I know what's going through your mind right now. He's not hurt, too badly at least. Those scratches are nothing compared to the ones he used to get on his back, if you get the meaning there. He's trying to…hold onto himself. I guess Shadow has gotten more of a grip on his personality. That's too bad, I was hoping to at least die in one piece tonight." Rony said all of this looking over as Kyoto seemed to struggle to his feet. He had an X-mark across his stomach of 4 lines each, and they were a bright reddish color.

Looking over to them with a slight grimace, he chuckled, which seemed to hurt him a bit, but he persisted. "Not to seem too 'Bruce Lee'…" And with those words he proceeded to rip the tattered and ruined shirt from his frame. Looking over to Rony, he smiled softly. "Care to try this all over again?"

She smiled at him and nodded, adjusting the hat she wore before looking over to Lulu. She gave a nod before jumping over, a skip in her step as she moved. She was close when he leapt up into the air, nearly disappearing into the overcast and near black night sky, before he came down next to her, cracking the cement beneath him. He kicked her in the stomach, and she was launched backwards toward the streetlight he had been working out on previously. She twisted in the air like only an acrobat could and swung around, grabbing the pole and using the momentum to swing around and launch back toward him, feet-first.

Moving out of the way just so, he gripped her around the midsection and literally stopped her forward progress by slamming her to the ground. She bounced back up slightly, and he caught her in a low kick to the side with the toe of his boot, sending her spinning off and to the front of a parked car. The fiberglass bumper bent in, and she laid there for a moment. She stood shakily, and as she did, he crouched and jumped straight up, disappearing into the night sky again.

And she was off like a cat with prey in sight. She rushed the streetlight and ran up it about 6 steps to the split where the light turned from the vertical pole to go over the street, and she leapt up and out to the side just a bit. She caught him midair in a tackle, and as they both fell toward the ground, she released him and did a turn in the air and slammed both of her feet into his middle, kicking him toward the ground.

She flipped back to land on the streetlight again as he fell, however he rolled at the last second and hit the ground feet-first and rebounded like a ball of rubber, bouncing up where he caught the horizontal bar of the streetlight below where she was sitting, swung under, and kicked her in the back. However, she copied his spin on the lamp pole, and kicked him in the back. He fell and into the windshield of another car, and she jumped down, slashing with her claws.

Rolling out of the way just in time, he kicked to the side of her thigh, which sent her to the ground on one side of the car, and he rolled off the other side. And as she stood, Lulu got to witness exactly how strong he was. He kicked the car, and it literally flipped up into the air. Rony stood there as if intending to watch it flip over her and possibly land on her. And faster than the car could fall, which was flipping in the air and aiming to come down on her, Kyoto did something very odd and Lulu watched it all in what seemed like slow motion.

Kyoto kicked up, knocking the hat the woman wore up and into the spinning monster sure to crush them both, and he grabbed her by her hair, and like a boomerang or a ball of some sort, he threw her by her hair and the nape of her neck out of the way and into the side of a car on the other side of the road before he himself jumped after her. The car landed and crunched before it exploded.

Kyoto had leapt next to Rony, and had picked her up and ran clear of the scene. Clear enough for both to survive, but both took some shrapnel damage. Lulu took some herself, but nothing more than a few scrapes.

Laying her broken body on the ground, he kneeled next to her. She coughed weakly and smiled up at him with her fiery hair framing her face. "Why did you save me?"

"Because the last time I get to see you, I refuse to let you be completely smashed and unrecognizable." He smiled softly at her, kissing her forehead gently. "Goodnight, my love. Sleep well, and tell the only other woman I ever loved that I will see her soon, but hopefully not too soon." He smiled before leaning down and barely brushing his lips to hers before with a fast move, he snapped her neck and placed it back straight again. Closing her open eyes, he sat down tiredly by her body, running his fingers through her hair absentmindedly.

Her body seemed to be rapidly decomposing or something, as it broke down into dust before Lulu's very eyes. She watched him reach out to her neck and grab something that seemed to be a necklace of some kind and remove it from her body and slip it into his pocket. People were running from their houses, but Kyoto wasn't watching them. Instead, he watched as Rony's body blew away in a random gust of wind, breaking up into seeming infinite particles of dust, as if that was all her body was in the first place. Nothing remained of her but an impossibly black key. And picking it up, he turned away and walked down the street, turning a corner.

Lulu caught him leaving a 24-hour store. He was wearing a new black t-shirt and he was fiddling with a shining silver Zippo lighter. And pulling out a cigarette from a box he held, he placed it between his lips and lit it.

"You smoke."

"Not until now. Maybe it'll kill me, eh? I seem to be too good at staying alive." And turning away from her, he walked off, the picture of depression. His shoulders were slumped and his hair out of place for once. As he was almost out of her sight on the street, he crouched and jumped up onto the top of a large office building, before leaping from there and disappearing from her sight.

-----


	14. Chapter 13

**FFOmega**

Part I: Bitter-Sweet Dreams

Chapter 13

The school year was arriving quickly. After a trip to Diagon Alley in which Harry was incredibly glad he wasn't recognized by the masses of his school acquaintances, they all returned to the house to allow the summer to end. Harry spent some of that time running around the grounds, testing his speed. He was fast, faster than he had ever seen any one person run in his life, he could tell as Blaise had ran alongside him for all of a few seconds before she was many feet behind him. He could jump as well, and was loving the freedom he was granted when he leapt into the air and had the few seconds of feeling like he was literally flying on his own before he came back to the ground.

But even with all of the power, nothing good became of sparring with Blaise. She was not as fast or as strong as him, but she was in better control or herself. She was surer on her feet than he was, her compact form working to her advantage as she dodged his attacks. He lost every time they fought hand-to-hand, almost always by being driven off of his balance and effectively beating himself. But with weapons, he found something he felt he was very good at. Any time they sparred with any weapon that was over knife-length, he was able to beat her, partially from reach, and partially from have a lot more power than her. He learned as he trained with her, growing more confident in his skills with the weapons he used.

He had progressed well, but still seemed a bit weary about actually practicing with the Demon sword. He had placed it away from him and hadn't touched it for the rest of summer. But as the time for school came closer, he began to stare at it more and more. And the night of August 31st, he actually picked it up. And giving it a spin in his hand, he placed it in the steel case it had come in, and put it into his trunk. Gathering all of his things and placing them in the new trunk he had gotten, he placed them in on top of the sword, even the things he rarely if ever used. He would take the weapon, but didn't intend to go anywhere near it the whole year.

He looked over to Blaise, who was packing as well. She had packed a few of her blades, small ones that could be carried everywhere with no one being the wiser, and then had some laid out on the bed. Harry smiled and looked at them. She was stripped down to her bra and a pair of his boxers she had stolen before he even got a chance to wear them, the hem rolled up a few times and low on her hips, showing they were worn over her underwear. And she proceeded to show him where all the blades went. One was strapped to her calf, and one at her waist under her robes at all times. Another was strapped to her upper arm when she wasn't wearing short sleeves, and the final one was on the back, atop the clasp of her bra. When he asked her why she was showing him this, she told him she didn't intend to have him getting cut while they snogged.

He smiled and remembered the locations, before she tossed him two blades as well. The small knives she carried at almost all times when they left the house were weapons he wasn't as comfortable using as the longer ones, but he was at least efficient with them. Smaller weapons would always be her thing more than his, they required a sureness of one's self and a level of dexterity he had yet to develop, mainly because of how much he had grown in just the short summer since his change. He promised her he would carry them, and put them to the side for wear the next day to the station before walking over to her and kissing her.

"So, how are we going to work this house thing? I doubt the Slytherins will want Harry Potter in the common room, and I doubt the Gryffindors will want _any_ Slytherins in their common room." Blaise asked him.

"For the beginning we might have to go elsewhere, but the house will warm up to it. And if anything, they'll have to deal with it. Ron and Hermione are on our side at the very least, and Dean and all my other year-mates know. Being 6th years, the only people we might have to deal with are the 7th years, and I doubt they will give too much resistance to it. If they do, we'll figure it out."

Nodding, he kissed her some more before she hopped on his back and he carried her down the stairs. And lounging around, Blaise began an activity Harry sorely hated. She began juggling three throwing knives. It was a nerve-racking sport for spectators, and he assumed she knew and that was why she did it so much.

It was the night time, and they had come down if anything to tire themselves out to ensure that they actually slept at all. Harry walked out of the door and began to run around the grounds. It was first just jogging, but soon he took off running, and was soon invigorated, and more awake than he had been. However, he sensed something. It was like a flashing light when your back is turned to it. It wasn't something he was immediately able to place, but he knew it was there.

"You're fast kid, but can you outrun a bullet? I sorely doubt it." Looking up as he stopped running, he looked to the form of who could only be Baretta in the distance. Walking toward the man warily, he stopped when the man raised one of his guns and pointed it at him. "Do not come close to me. I just wanted to see your change for myself. But come close to me right now, and I will shoot you. That is all."

Harry stared at the man as he pulled out a pencil and pad of paper and began to write things down. Every so often he would look up at Harry, before writing some more. And placing the pad into his coat, Baretta turned and opened another rip in space and time, stepped through and was gone.

Raising an eyebrow, Harry turned and headed back to the house. Entering, he found Blaise still juggling. With his mind so sped up by the adrenaline, it seemed as if everything was slow, and he was moving at fairly normal speed. Reaching out and grabbing the twirling knives, he snatched them from the air and placed them down on the table in front of Blaise. The world sped back up to his eyes, and Blaise's eyes widened as she looked at him in shock. Smiling brightly at her, he picked her up and carried her up the stairs.

-----

Baretta walked into the bar slowly. It was a state called "Texas" and he was there for little to no reason. It was the closest bar to the Mexican-United States border, and he wasn't loving the rustic feel to the place. The men glancing up at him as soon as he entered didn't unnerve him as much as irked him. They gave him sneers as if they themselves were imposing enough to make him want to leave.

Baretta laughed at that thought as he walked up to the front. The woman behind the bar had a definite Latin look and feel to herself, her spiraling black hair and hazel eyes were good looking, and her curvy body, which was clear even as he sat down on the barstool, was definitely a plus.

"What can I get for you?" She asked, as she continued to clean a glass out. He smiled at her softly and removed his glasses slowly.

"Whiskey, straight." She nodded and pulled out the bottle and poured him a shot and slid it over to him. He caught it and downed it and motioned for another as he spun around on the stool and glanced to the two men in the corner of the bar, talking in hushed tones. Both looked as out of place there as he did for some reason. Not because of dress, but it seemed almost like the dress was researched and too well put together. Like it wasn't what they normally wore, like a costume.

He had found them.

Turning back to the woman, he smiled and winked at her. She blushed slightly. She was always hit on, but it was almost always by men who were drunk and gave her the same old sex propositions. But this man was perfectly sober and subtle. "Do you know those two men over there?" He asked her. She shook her head. "Got a boyfriend?" She nodded. "He here?" She nodded and gestured to the back of the bar. "He hits you, doesn't he." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. She stared at him nervously, looking unsure of how he knew. He smiled simply.

And pulling out his guns, he said over his shoulder, "You are about to be closed for the rest of the day." And he shot both men in the corner in the head, smiling at the fact that the last other customers had left just before he had taken his first shot. The woman's boyfriend ran out with a shotgun, just to be slammed across the face with one of the handguns Baretta held, his teeth scattering across the floor as he went down and stayed there. Taking the shotgun, Baretta removed the shells and pocketed them, before he went and took the suitcase the two men had been sitting next to and then walked over to the woman.

He extended his hand to her, and she took it, and he walked her over to the pool table and she kicked her shoes off as he went over and put the shotgun through the curved door handles on the inside to keep the doors closed, and then he shrugged off his duster and walked over to her, kissing her hard and hiking up the sides of her skirt with his hands as he lifted her up and sat her on the corner of the pool table. He had been right, the bar would be closed for the rest of the day. And ended up opening later than normal the next afternoon, no bodies in sight, and not a glimpse of the long-sleeves the woman usually wore during the day to cover the bruises on her arms. Instead, she fully displayed the bruise that had formed on her neck and along her clavicle like a badge of honor.

-----

Kyoto groaned as he awoke. He had had a horrible night, and now someone was banging on the door. He had finally gotten to sleep, and someone was at his door banging like they were the police, at 4:10 in the morning.

Groaning as he rolled off of the futon onto the floor and crawled all the way to the front door, he pulled himself up using the door handle as leverage. Finally standing, he opened the door to see none other than,

The police.

"Can I help you, officer?"

"Don't play smart with me Mister…" the police officer looked down to the pad of paper he held. "What ever your name is. We have reports of someone matching your description participating in a gang disturbance at around 3 this morning. Where were you at that time?"

"Here. Sleep."

"Do you have someone who can co…cor…witness to this testimony."

"My pillow." Kyoto sighed, shaking his head. "The word you were looking for is 'corroborate' for your further information. I wasn't where you seem to be trying to place me, and for that matter, I think it would be a good idea if you left." And before the policeman could speak again, the door was slammed in his face. And as Kyoto had made it back to his bed and was in the process of removing his pink bunny slippers, the door was slammed off of the hinges, and the windows on the loft flat shattered as people came through from ropes on the roof. He crouched low, analyzing the scene while Shadow shouted to be let out, when a woman walking into the room like a model. She was more curvy than the thin models Kyoto had seen and partaken in several times, and even in the deep gray business suit, she was awakening his mind.

Well, more awake than having over 20 men armed to the teeth break into his house at 4 in the morning would awaken one's mind. She smiled sardonically and waved the men behind her down, and they lowered their automatic weapons from pointing at him as she walked closer to his still form.

"Rose Brown, Paranormal Division, Scotland Yard." She introduced herself. Kyoto since had seemed to calm greatly, and was even leaning against the wall in a clearly bored gesture.

"Yeah, hi. Nice weather we're having here, eh?"

"You seem very calm for someone who has this many weapons trained on him. Is there a reason for that Mister…"

"Nox. And not really any reason outside of me doubting any of you in this room would be able to kill me before I was able to get out. And getting out would take me less time than just killing everyone else in the room. Probably save me a lot of headache too, I might be able to get back to sleep then...Well, on second thought, I'd have to shower afterwards to get this troop's brain matter out of my hair, and that troop's retinal nerve endings out from under my fingernails, so probably more trouble than its worth. Unless of course you'd like to come and help me clean afterwards, I could use someone to wash my back. Among other things." There was a grin in his voice as he said this.

She looked unnerved for a moment before shaking it off and continuing mostly unperturbed, "Is there a reason for that, the ability to get out quickly thing? Like, perhaps the fact that you have some paranormal abilities?" Kyoto smirked, before reaching into a side pocket on his pants and pulling out his lighter. He walked away from her for a moment, grabbing the box of cigarettes from his bedside table and walking back to his previous position. He placed one on his lips and rose the lighter to light the cigarette. "I'd rather you not." Rose said.

"Do I care what you'd 'rather I not' do in my own place, which you illegally broke into?" He lifted the lighter to his face and flicked it, causing the flame to rise. And it was then that Rose was able to see his eyes.

"Is that for fashion or intimidation? I don't know of any vampires that have vision problems." Kyoto laughed before that turned into coughing, causing him to take the cigarette from his mouth and drop it. Looking at its loss on the ground, instead of getting out another one, he decided to just start flicking the lighter.

"Vampire? I'm insulted, but at the same time saddened that the supposed 'Paranormal Studies' department can't tell the difference between a vampire and anything else. Here, I'll give you a lesson." He lifted the lighter up to his face. "Lesson one, despite what the movies say, vampires can not retract and lengthen their fangs." He opened his mouth and used the flame to show her in the dark room his pearly white, but otherwise fairly unremarkable teeth."

"And that proves very little. We have accounts that people such as Lord Dracula could retract his teeth, and if anything, you could be using a disguise of some kind." Rose spoke condescendingly.

"Fine, lesson two. Vampires, the little shits that they are, are incredibly flammable. Put them near a flame, and they go up like a sheet of cotton soaked in lighter fluid." He took the lighter and ran the flame along his thumb, the skin burning and blistering for a few seconds before healing over.

"Then…then…what are you?" Rose stammered, knowing no vampire could fake what she had just seen.

"Me? I think I am done answering your questions, that's what I am. So…tell me why you are here," It wasn't a request.

"Well, we had accounts of someone with paranormal abilities in this general area. Last night someone matching your description was involved in a huge street fight with someone that we believe to have been a vampire, and defeated her, and she turned to dust. We were looking to see if you were a vampire, or a hunter like this other man we had a meeting with some time ago, Baretta…"

"First of all, she was _not_ a vampire. If you make such a mistake as that in front of me again and liken her to those scum-licking Angelic wanna-be-Demonic posers, I will kill you and everyone else in this room, hot shower and hours of cleaning the blood off my done-by-hand stained cherrywood floors be damned." This was the first time he had shown emotion, and it was anger. Rose could see his face seeming to darken and get even more drawn and harsh, and his body tensing up, even in the darkness of the room. A cold swept over the room, and it seemed to get even darker there, and the woman made note to never slip up again. "And you met Baretta you say? That's interesting. I am not a hunter. That is his job…sorta. Whenever he feels like doing something, it's either hunting, or going to Disneyland and knocking the ice creams out of little kids' hands and then fucking their mothers in the nearest stall, or something else to that effect. Never quite understood his attraction toward that type and doing things like picking some random broad up off the street who's been mistreated, unloved or otherwise ignored, shagging her and then never talking to her again. Honestly seems worse, give them a bit of something better then leave...But I never claimed to understand 'The Winged Ones'. I'd perfer my 'Horns' anyday" The last part he mused to himself, chuckling at the thought, Rose chose to ignore this piece of information.

"So if you aren't a vampire, would that make you another of these…'Fallen'?"

"No, I am not a Fallen. I am someone who would have been what you would call an Ascended, but it didn't work too well. So, I am a Locked. The Cursed."

"I'm not familiar with these terms. Could you clarify maybe?" Rose was making note of these terms, but also seeing how antsy her men were getting standing there while she had a conversation with the man. They had intended to break in and find a very powerful vampire, in which case they would kill it, or an incredibly powerful vampire hunter, in which case they would hopefully speak to the hunter to get that person on their side and if the speaking wouldn't work, then they would apprehend him, find his secrets, and then either kill him or lock him away. They had not expected a conversation.

"Then how about a term you will understand. I am a Demon. A full Demon, not a Halfling, a part-breed or a mutt, just a Demon. My name is Kyoto Nox, but you will not find anything under that name anywhere, and I doubt you will learn too much about me under any other name I give you but one."

"And what name would that be?"

"You want to know about me? Look for the name Shadow in all of your paranormal research books and files I know litter your department. And when you find that, if you suddenly feel compelled to come after me, one word of advice."

Rose sat with bated breath as he lit another cigarette and took a long drag from it, closing his eyes as he took in the fumes, before blowing them out slowly.

"Don't." And he dropped the cigarette, and when it hit the floor, Rose looked to where he had been to find him gone. The wind whistled through fabric, which drew her eyes to the one window they did not enter, the one left closed. The curtains were blowing outwards and he was long gone.

-----

Harry awoke the morning of September the 1st before anyone else in the house. Lifting up his trunk, which wasn't incredibly heavy to him, a lot lighter than it had been before the last time he had tried to lift it, he took it down the stairs and set it by the stairs. He took down Blaise's before heading in and taking a shower. About halfway through, Blaise woke up, he had no idea why or how he knew, but he did. She came in the bathroom door a bit later, and he shouted for her to get out playfully and she rolled her eyes. "I have to pee, Potter, and this is my bathroom, don't go getting attitude with me." She was quiet for a bit, and Harry eventually went back to showering, cleaning as he hummed a song to himself.

The glass door to the shower was opened and closed, and when Harry turned around, Blaise was standing right beside him. She smiled at him and kissed him, before she grabbed the washcloth and began to wash herself. They kissed twice more in the process, before Harry headed out and dried off, and went and got dressed. Blaise came out some time later, drying her hair. She put on her undergarments and then started trying to comb her hair and get dressed at the same time. Harry sighed and went over to her, helping to comb through her hair while she dressed herself. Soon she was almost done, and Harry went back to finding what he intended to wear.

Pulling on a pair of jeans and a black shirt, he pulled on his boots and then grabbed the long coat Parvati and Padma had given him. He slipped that on as well, and dropped the hood from his head and looked over to Blaise. She smiled and gave him the thumbs-up while she placed her knives. Harry placed both in straps on his forearms, before he headed down the stairs. They would be taking the Knight Bus, and Harry was thankful for being able to finally get himself to the platform and not having to rely on everyone to get him there.

After eating on a small breakfast steak, Harry finding it odd that he made his own fairly rare, they both left after a nice heartfelt goodbye to Jamie. Jamie held Harry back for a moment. "Take care of my baby, Harry. She is strong, stronger than me at her age and even now if I'm being honest with myself. But she is still young, and still weak in so many ways. Guard her heart, and be there for her. Please. She will do right by you, she cares about you, I know, and I know you care about her. It might be the world against you two, will you stand by her?"

Harry nodded once, resolutely. "Yes, I will. It's almost always been the world against me, it'll be nice to have some company." He smiled at her, and she hugged him tightly, and kissed him on his cheek and he headed out of the house. After calling for the bus and Harry helping Stan place the trunks on, Blaise took his hand, and they heading onto the bus and sat down.

For most of the ride, they spoke to each other fairly silently, ignoring most people who got on the bus. They saw Lavender, who came and sat with them and they all smiled and spoke about the coming year as well, and a girl named Su Li came over and said hello as well, before she and another Ravenclaw who was sitting near them jumped into conversation. No one but the people who had gone to Harry or Blaise's birthday parties knew it was Harry at first glance, and when they got to the station that became even clearer. Blaise had gone over to speak to Daphne, and Harry was standing on the platform waiting for his friends to arrive.

A girl walked up to him. She smiled flirtatiously, eying him. She walked, no, attempted to _saunter_ toward him, and smiled up at him. It was Pansy Parkinson.

"Hey there, are you new here? If so, I can be a great friend to have for you, I can show you the ropes, the _ins_ and _outs_ of this school and how she can _surround _you, how to make her hold you to her protective and loving bosom. The people to show if you like things public, the places to go if you like things more…private."

Harry stared in complete and utter horror at the small girl in front of him, making the most horribly and thinly veiled sexual come-on he had ever had the displeasure of hearing. He shook his head as if to clear it, and sighed in complete relief as he saw his friends had made it onto the train and Blaise was coming toward him. He shot her a look of panic over Pansy's head before he nodded a goodbye and almost ran over to Blaise. He walked by her, grabbing her hand and pulling her to the compartment he had caught Hermione's bushy hair disappear into.

Entering, he saw Ron and Daphne there, along with Hermione, Lavender, Parvati and Padma as well. He sat down and sighed loudly in exasperation before closing his eyes and lowering his forehead to the table.

"What happened, mate?" Ron asked in shock by the boy's reaction.

"Pansy…Parkinson…she, she, she came on to me. Horribly." He relayed what she had said to him, and everyone shivered at the disgusting thought that it was before they laughed, all but Blaise however, who had cracked her knuckles and asked where the girl had gone. Harry shook his head and kissed her and whispered something in her ear that made her sigh and snuggle up to him.

"Harry, did I ever tell you how damned good that thing looks on you?" Padma said, smiling as she indicated the coat they had gotten for him. She was wearing a Gryffindor scarf, and Parvati the Ravenclaw one, but he knew what they were trying to do.

"Thanks Padma."

"Harry, that's Parvati. See, she's wearing the Gryffindor scarf and everything." Hermione said.

"No, that's Padma. Parvati is wearing a Ravenclaw scarf at the moment." Harry said, smiling to himself. Padma nodded and tossed her sister the Gryffindor scarf before sticking her tongue out at Harry.

"How did you know? Half the time, our own father can't tell us apart unless we make it known which is which." Parvati asked.

"Ah, that's my secret." Harry said, before kissing Blaise lightly on the forehead and leaning in toward her.

"Harry, you might want to kind of, tone it down for the train ride. I have no issue with it, but Ginny didn't make Prefect this year, so she will be here for the ride, and you know how she gets concerning Blaise. It hasn't gotten any better. None of us have issues with it, but it might help everyone if it waits until school." Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron's comment.

"Harry shouldn't have to limit the way he feels because your sister can't get over a crush. It's not his fault, and you are making it seem like he should have picked Ginny instead." Parvati said offhandedly and she filed on her nails.

"Its not that its just," he looked to the door as if expecting her to enter any second, before he dropped his voice, "she's gotten really…she's a bit off recently. Mum is furious, and is insisting Harry did something to lead her on before 'shacking up with some Slytherin bint' as she said. I don't believe a bit of it, and the twins don't, neither does Bill, but Charlie and Gin have always been close. And Percy is being a bastard and being all 'I told you so' and that bull. And now he has Mum being like that too.

"And no matter how much of an arse I think she is being, she is my sister. I'm just asking that, while Hermione and I are gone to the Prefect meeting, that you try and tone it down until we are back at the castle where there are more places to go that she isn't likely to wander up on you two. Please Harry?" Harry looked at his friend in a completely new light, the intelligence, planning and tact they had all known was there was shining clear there.

Harry smiled to his friend and took Blaise's hand and nodded. "I think I can handle a few hours of having my hands off of her, for your sake Ron. But if we are missing for dinner, don't go checking broom closets, eh? No sense getting caught and losing all House points before term even starts." Harry smiled and gave Blaise one last kiss, and they locked eyes for a second before they all sat and made little jokes.

Ron and Hermione left to the Prefect meeting, and Blaise moved to the other side of the compartment and stretched out. Her feet were placed in Harry's lap, and she nudged him with them, clearing her throat. After doing this 3 times, getting louder, he sighed. "Can I help you?"

"Yes. Foot massage." Were her only words. He rolled his eyes and pulled her shoes off and began to do just that. She smirked at him, but stopped when he started tickling her, to which she readily admitted her defeat under the ministrations of. He stopped soon into it and massaged her feet some more before she seemed to drift off. He placed her shoes back on and placed her feet on the ground before he stretched his back and turned to see the wistful looks on Lavender, Parvati and Padma's faces.

"What?"

"It's so sweet in a funny kind of way. The Gryffindor King and the Slytherin Queen together."

Blaise sat up and smiled at the girl before saying something about her having to go off to see Daphne again about a school assignment, as the girl had exited the compartment moments after Ron had. Blaise left the compartment, and Harry found himself being stared at by the three girls he was left in the compartment with.

"You really like her, don't you?" Lavender said this, but it wasn't exactly phrased as a question as much as her personal revelation. Harry smiled as he thought about it, and nodded.

"I had always thought it would either be Hermione of Parvati. Lavender we all figured would end up with Ron, and it was a toss up between Hermione and Parvati in the thoughts of the other houses. But then again, none of us were completely sure Hermione was straight either…" Her sister picked up before Harry could make a comment about what Padma has just said.

"But if it helps, none of us ever saw you actually getting together with Ginny, and after the way she hopped from guy to guy last year, I don't think it would have been a great thing for you to do, personally." And as Parvati finished talking, the compartment door opened. And in wandered Luna, and behind her walked Ginny. "Well, speak of the Scarlet Woman...I mean Devil..." Parvant mumbled.

Seeing Harry alone, Ginny almost pushed Luna out of the way and sat right next to Harry. The compartment was half empty, and there were other seats, but she sat right next to Harry, and close enough that he could count the freckles across her nose. "Hi Harry! How was the rest of your summer? I don't see what's-her-name here, so you must have broken up. Are you ok, did that bint hurt your heart? I'm here for you."

She spoke fast and all of her sentences blurred into one. And soon she was done and was going for Harry's hand when suddenly Luna seemed to jerk out of normal head-in-the-clouds self and shouted, "Ginny, shut up! He doesn't care about you like that, get your head out of your arse and bloody well realize it, you dumb girl!" and then she was right back to reading the Quibbler as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Ginny jumped and then stared at her friend, before looking around as Padma seemed to be trying to not laugh, and Parvati and Lavender were doing the same, but succeeding a lot less, and Harry for the most part was looking out of the window, feeling fairly bored. Getting up and leaving the compartment in a huff, Ginny slammed the door, and as soon as it slammed shut, Parvati, Padma and Lavender erupted in laughter. They looked at Harry, and saw that he was showing no outward signs of caring about the past display at all. All but one sentence. "Thanks Luna." Was all he said, still staring out of the window.

-----

Lulu had gone into the club looking for some type of alcohol, and hadn't been all that shocked to find it to be a strip club. She had gone up to the bar to order something, when a topless girl with a toned body and medium-sized breasts, a rarity in the club which seemed to showcase overly-large and quite fake breasts, walked over to her. She had started grinding behind the leather-clad woman, and it wasn't bothering Lulu as much as it could, or admittedly should, have. Lulu even went and sat down by the stage with the drink, and the girl began to grind on her again.

However, as Lulu started to get into it, some guy came by and grabbed the girl by her hair, saying something about wanting a dance, and dragged her toward the back. Lulu growled in her throat as she rose with her drink and headed to the back, after ordering another of the same drink, having downed the last 3 in short order. The large guard there tried to stop her by putting his hand out, and at the perfect place to allow his intended "apprehension" of her to allot him a free grope of her chest. Lulu caught his hand, twisted until she heard a crack, before pushing him out of her way.

Heading into the back, the girl was being held by her hair by the fairly young and expensively dressed bleached blond man as she attempted to give him a dance. The man seemed to have come with his own personal security, and as such, was surrounded by large men in black suits. And he was trying to get the girl to lose the last piece of her clothing as he fumbled around with his pants.

Walking over, she pulled the girl up, and gave her a pat on the behind and a kiss to the cheek, whispering as she pulled back, "Let me handle this" to the crying girl. Smiling at the blonde man, Lulu walked over, beginning to shake her hips slowly to the beat as she lost the denim jacket she wore, revealing the leather suit. She slid the zipper down to just under her navel, revealing traces of the black bikini top she wore, as well as her smooth skin. And suddenly from behind her, she pulled a bullwhip, which was looped along her waist. And as she cracked it on the ground, the man clapped his hands in glee. Turning to the security, Lulu spoke a command for them to leave.

They didn't until the man insisted that they do so, him anxious to get it going. They scampered from the room, leaving Lulu, the girl, and the blonde man. Smiling to herself, Lulu slashed the whip just to the side of the man, making him jump. And as she walked sexily over to him, his smile grew as his hands rose out. Standing so she was close to his seated form, he reached out and slid his hands along her hips. She pointed at the sign on the wall while she pushed his hands away.

"The sign says 'Do Not Touch the Dancers.' Can't you see it?" She asked as she stepped away.

"Come back over here." It wasn't a request, as he grabbed her roughly by her hips and placed his hands back on her hips before moving back and grabbing a hold of her leather clad behind, kneading it roughly. And with a fast movement, the man was laying on the ground.

"You stupid bitch!" The man yelled, before he caught Lulu's shoe in his privates. Leaning down next to him as the man lay on the floor in pain, Lulu got close enough to his ear so he could hear her speak as she wrapped the whip around his neck, putting an uncomfortable amount of pressure on his windpipe.

"Now look here asshole. I hate people like you. Don't use women. Because if I hear about it, I will make sure you have a very, very bad day." And she kicked him in the side of the head.

She pulled his wallet out from his pocket and looked in. She called the girl over as she peered at the bills on the side. She pulled out several of the very large bills and slid them into the girl's thong. Lulu turned to walk out when she was grabbed lightly by her long hair. As she was pulled around, she was kissed by the girl deeply before being pushed into the chair the now barely conscious man had been sitting in, and then the girl had begun to give her a dance.

Sitting back and taking another drink from her glass, she looked at the man laying there on the ground and threw the glass in her hand at him. The bottom of the glass hit him, making a _thump_ sound but not breaking, but sending the man to the ground unconscious. She hated men like that. She enjoyed her dance, before tipping the girl all the rest of the money left in the man's wallet, which was a great deal, probably more than the girl made all year. This lead to the girl giving her yet another kiss, before they headed out of the room. Lulu gave the girl a pat on her behind again before she began heading out of the door. As she did, heard the woman running behind her.

"Wait!" Turning around, Lulu looked to the girl. She wasn't very voluptuous, but had a very nice beauty to her, and a strong, toned body. "I never got your name."

"Lulu."

"Well, I'm Alex. Alexandra really, but I hate being called that, seems too stuffy. I just wanted to give you this, just in case you ever need to talk, ever need another dance, ever need or want…anything else." The suggestiveness of the statement was only equaled by the nervousness on Alex's face.

Smiling, Lulu took the napkin that had the girl's name, number and address on it, and slid it into the cup of her bikini top, somewhere she knew it would be able to stay safe. And taking the girl's hand, she gave it one last squeeze before she walked out of the front door.

-----

Blaise and Harry spent most of the rest of the ride just sitting together in companionable silence. When they got to the school, they changed into their robes and headed out, holding each other's hands. And to the literal shock of everyone at the school who had yet to see them together, Blaise did something that was unheard of. She walked with Harry to the Gryffindor table, and sat there with him. And Daphne and Ron, seeing them, followed the example and sat across the table from them.

Everyone watching made faces or whispers and so on, but Dumbledore smiled to himself. Starting the feast with the sorting, the Sorting Hat seemed to warn them of turning on their own. Then the students came. One of the first sorted was Cleo Abbott. She looked as little like her sister as one could expect, as she had a defiant look on her face, as well as strawberry-blonde hair and big brown eyes. She further proved how little she was like her sister when she was sorted into Gryffindor. She came over and the table clapped, and the sorting progressed. There were only 5 kids that came into Gryffindor that year, with 3 of them being girls. And as the sorting was wrapping up, Dumbledore got a whisper in his ear from Filch, and he stood.

"This year we have a student who will be transferring into the school. Her name is Bella Black. She has been home-schooled until recently, when her family was murdered. Please make her feel at home. She has been acquainted with the castle, but might need a bit of help getting from class to class. She will be a 6th year student, and we shall now commence her sorting." And in walked Bella. She looked very pretty in the black robes she wore, which set well with her dark hair, making her eyes stand out in a sharp contrast.

She walked out regally and sat down on the stool, and they placed the hat on her head. It still fell over her face, and it was quiet for a long time. And in a shock that almost caused Harry to choke as he sipped some water, the sorting hat shouted out her assignment.

"Gryffindor!"

Harry looked at Blaise, who was looking at him. Bella walked over and sat down next to Blaise, Hermione on Harry's other side. As Bella was sitting down, Ginny raised an eyebrow when Bella ran her hand through Harry's hair before she sat. Ginny documented this away from her spot down the table from Harry, as that was as close as she could get to him.

The dinner continued on and when it was over, Ron and Hermione disappeared with the few first years. Before he could get out of the hall, Hannah walked up to him. "Harry, could you please watch after my sister? She is smart as all getup, but she is headstrong as hell and every bit as courageous as a Gryffindor should be. She reminds me a lot of you the more I get to know you, and I was hoping you could keep you eye on her? Please?"

"Like, you want me to make sure people don't give her trouble?"

"That, and make sure she doesn't give other people trouble." Hannah smiled at Harry, who nodded before grabbing Blaise's hand, Bella walking by Blaise as they headed out of the Hall.

Ginny scowled as she watched Harry kiss Blaise goodbye as she headed toward the Slytherin Common room, whispering something into her ear before Blaise left. And Bella grabbed Harry's hand, and they walked together, hand in hand, up to the Gryffindor Common room.

-----

"So…What's with the new house assignment, Miss Black?" Bella for the most part had been in a daze the whole night after the sorting, talking very little and seemed to be afraid of being left alone for an extended period of time. It was easy to see that she didn't trust anyone in that particular house, anyone but Harry.

"I'm not sure. What do you think?"

"I think…maybe it was your courage in the whole baby situation. You know, defying Voldemort isn't exactly the world's easiest thing to do." Bella smiled at him in thanks for making her feel better. She sat on the arm of the chair he was sitting in as a small, bouncy first year, who wasn't even supposed to be up, came walking up to him.

"So you're Harry Frickin' Potter, eh? Sure don't look like much. But then again, I can sense somethin' on ya. Ya ain't normal. That's good. I don't like normal people much." Harry stared at the small girl. Her brown eyes were locked on him, and she was wearing muggle dentistry devices called "braces" and when she spoke she would send flashes of pink and silver to whoever she spoke to. She was short for her age, but with her short-sleeved shirt she wore with the sleeves rolled up, she had a solid bit of muscle definition considering her age, and seemed to have an ease in her walk past her age.

"Hello. You must be Cleo. Yes, I am Harry, and this is my friend Bella." Cleo nodded to them.

"Well, I have heard stories about your exploits from people saying they are your friends all night, and I didn't feel like hearing the secondhand cock-and-bull shit anymore. Felt like I would just meet you myself, become your friend, go on this year's adventure myself, so I don't have to hear about it from some overly eccentric 5th year and his 3rd year brother who are the two biggest closet cases I have ever had the displeasure of meeting."

Harry was gaping at the girl by then. She had a lot of sassiness to her, as well as a tilt to her as of yet underdeveloped hips that seemed to give off a mixture of intelligence, crassness, and outright arrogance. Harry had no idea why, but he was finding the girl intriguing, and Bella was smiling to herself. She had found her understudy; she had found the first 11 year-old she had ever liked.

"Who are these 2 closet cases?" Bella asked, her smile just barely held down as she asked.

"Harry here should know, they are both in love with him. Some bloke named Colin and his younger brother Dennis. At least those are the names I was given, but I am damned sure I heard wrong and it was really Colleen and Denise, but hey, whatever. Who cares, bloody well not me."

Bella smiled at the girl, she couldn't help it. The girl had a fortitude she had seen in no one but herself at that age, and Harry guessed if he took the girl along on any adventure he went on, she would probably be the second person in the school's history to be awarded points based solely on "sheer nerve." And he doubted he would be able to do much of anything remotely adventurous without her finding out and forcing herself along.

"So Cleo, seeing as we are going to be friends, how about you hop up on the arm of the chair and tell Bella and me about you."

-----

Over 2 hours later, Harry had learned the girl's entire life story, including commentary, from the girl learning to fly a broom, something that she didn't care to elaborate on outside of saying she had fallen, to some embarrassing commentary on what happened to her sister as the girl had gone through puberty the same time that her accidental magic triggered, and she literally grew a cup size in several seconds. In only one breast.

Her favorite color was midnight blue, and she hated the color pink, but according to her, her parents always seemed to want to believe that she was a miniature version of Hannah, and she wasn't. She wasn't a girlie girl at all, and didn't own a skirt or dress at all, and was very anti-girly. This lead to her hating who roommates, who were looking to be the Parvati and Lavender of the next generation.

Harry shared that his favorite color was black, something that made Bella laugh, and they spoke about a lot of things. The girl had some interesting insight for a 1st year, but she explained that she had been raised by her Unspeakable older brother more than anyone else in the family. She knew some magic, and seemed very impressed that she was the only one in her year that had a yew wand, a type of wand that was going out of style once they found out that it was the kind of wood Voldemort himself used, while holly was all of a sudden _the_ wand type because Harry had it. She had said that Ollivander hadn't told her, but her brother knew as they had similar wands, that the wand itself was suited for Dark Arts and everything related to them, which made Harry wary but smile at the same time that she seemed to excited about being thought of as evil.

"Hey, I see it like this. When it comes down to it, fear lasts forever, and I would rather be feared than loved. It's a dark mindset, but there isn't much I can do about that, because it's how I am. Dark Arts are only dark to those who see them like that. There are things in life that are dark but are still considered good." Harry nodded, knowing that if his Demon nature ever got out, then he would be viewed as just as evil as Voldemort himself by many people at the school. He was liking the girl more and more.

"Well little Cleo, since you seem to want to be hanging out with me, and Hannah asked me to take care of you, I will. You will be the new member of my group, ok?"

"Who all are in it?"

"Well, there's me, Bella, Blaise and you know the other two. Ron and Hermione."

"You mean the redhead and that girl who is still up in the room and won't _stop bloody talking_? She's the reason I came down here. I was gonna go to sleep or maybe pull out a Defense book and read up on this year's later course work and she wouldn't shut the hell up about 'Hogwarts: A History says this…' or 'Hogwarts: A Revised History says that…' and I personally couldn't care less about Hogwarts: A Bloody Fucking History if you gave me half the galleons in Gringott's."

"Miss Abbott! We do not speak like that in this common room, and it would do you well to remember that. Harry, you should set her straight, there is no reason for her to be speaking like that!" Hermione said as she was coming down the stairs.

"Ah Hermione, its okay, no point trying to change her at all, she'll just do it behind your back, might as well get used to it. If she loses us points, then she loses us points, its damn well worth listening to what she has to say." Harry said with a laugh. Lavender, Parvati and Ginny were all coming down the stairs behind Hermione, and Harry could hear his dormmates on the way down as well.

"Cleo, you had better run off to bed." Cleo shook her head. Harry sighed and shrugged, before he stuck his hand out, "It was nice to meet you, Cleo, and you will make a good friend. Care to shake on it?" Cleo made to shake it before he used it to pull her close in what she thought would be a hug, but he picked her up and carried her over to the stairs and put her down. She tried to run by him back down to the common room, but he picked her up, carried her up to her dorm and tossed her in before closing the door and casting a timed locking charm, so it would unlock on its own in an hour, no sooner. It wasn't strong in any sense, but he figured they knew little to no magic as of then so it should hold the first years inside.

Coming back down, he saw almost everyone looking at him incredulously. "What!" He almost shouted as he sat down in his chair, Bella looking just as confused as he felt.

"How did you get up the girl's stairs? Guys can't go up the female stairs, it's protected." Lavender asked. Hermione had figured it out, as did Harry. It couldn't pick him up because it was human males, and he wasn't really one completely anymore. It was the same reason he found out that he couldn't travel by Floo alone, as it confused the system.

Smiling to them conspiratorially, "Magic" was all he said. They all got over it and jumped into individual conversations, the room taken up solely by the 6th years, outside of Ginny, and Julie Everheart, a fellow 5th year with Ginny, who was sitting there speaking to Lavender about something. Bella made a joke, and Harry stuck his tongue out at her and hit her with a pillow before turning to talk to Hermione when Bella went from sitting on the chair's arm to sitting on his lap with a pillow in hand, hitting him in the head. When she stopped hitting him playfully, she just leaned back against the chair arm and stayed where she was.

"Hermione, what does it say in that accursed book of yours about allowed members of other Houses into the common room of another house?"

Hermione thought for a moment before replying, "If you have consent from 10 of your housemates, then that works as something akin to a permit. It would take another 10 to forfeit the ability, but outside of that, you can get something like a "license" if you have the consent of the House's head prefect, and like, 2 other prefects, or hold a house meeting." Hermione looked around, and saw that there were 10 people in the room at that moment outside of Harry, who couldn't vote as he wanted the pass. "Okay, so there are 10 of us here now, anyone objecting to Harry having a House permit?"

"Who's it for?" Dean asked.

"Blaise." Harry answered, and Dean shrugged.

"I don't see how you can say that while you have _her_ sitting on your lap. Gave up one for the other? I saw her coming on to you in the hall when you two had just met, I don't see what she thinks she's doing. Who is she anyway?" Harry rolled his eyes as he looked down into his, or more, Bella's lap, as he didn't need Ginny's jealousy over what he was getting ready to say, it would be hard enough explaining.

"She's my friend, Ginny."

"Then what was that with Zabini?"

"Her name is Blaise, Ginny, and this is Bella. Bella, Blaise and I all met over the summer, and she was transferring here. Blaise wanted to get to know her, and in essence we all ended up dating each other. I love Blaise, Bella and me are exploring how things work. In the end, we are all "dating", or more likely courting, but at the moment, we, Bella and I, are basically really good friends."

There was silence for a while before Seamus broke into a huge grin. "So you mean to tell me that you not only have a hot Slytherin girlfriend, but you have a hot Gryffindor one, and they get hot…together? It's like what we all dreamt happened between Lavender and Parvati, only this is like…real!" The Irishman grinned, and Parvati threw a pillow at him, rolling her eyes.

"So…back to the pass thing." Bella said, seeing the tension looking to build again. "I say give it to him."

Everyone in the room nodded. All but one. Ginny. "I don't see how him dating her all of a sudden makes you all forget her from before. She's a Slytherin, and they have no business being here. One person dates outside of the House, and years of truths about the darkness of the snakes in that house goes out the window?"

"So you are saying no?" Parvati asked, her face showing she was clearly not impressed. When Ginny nodded, she continued. "Because she's a Slytherin? Yeah, I'm so sure, Ginerva. I have talked to Blaise, and she and Padma used to have some classes together. Hell, she went to Primary with Padma, Lavender and me, and she's a good person. Get over this crush, Ginny."

"It's not a crush! I love him! And he loves me too, and she has blinded him, I know she did, why can't you all see that! He risked his life to save me my first year, he has to be in love with me, he took me along last year, he only takes his best friends, he has to love me, don't you all see!"

Everyone stared at the girl in utter shock. "I vote Harry's girl can come, I wanna meet the broad anyways." Came a voice from the stairs. And looking, there was Cleo. Harry realized that she must have learned some magic from having an Unspeakable brother, and he sighed as he realized his mistake. But he smiled at the girl.

"There, that's 10, that's all he needs, its settled, he can bring Blaise in here whenever he wants. If she is proven untrustworthy, then we will do what we have to, but in the morning that can all be settled. I think tempers need to cool, so lets all head up to bed." Spoke, surprisingly, Ron. Everyone nodded and headed upstairs, Ginny scowling at Bella, who received a kiss to the forehead as she went up the stairs, as well as Cleo, who Harry picked up and hugged and spun around, the two laughing before he sent the girl up the stairs. Parvati and Lavender got hugs, as did Hermione, as Harry seemed positioned by the girl's stairs saying goodnight. Julie took one, and when Ginny went last to go up, he hugged her but it was a hug that included a few pats on the back.

It was not a loving hug. It was the hug of friends, not of lovers. He didn't love her. But she would be damned if she didn't change that.

-----

The Demon summoning was not going particularly wonderful, in truth. The self styled Dark Lord had an affinity for almost all other kinds of dark rituals, but summoning a Demon was proving more difficult than he was willing to admit to anyone else, even himself.

And that was why he sat there on his serpentine throne, flipping through a book of Demon Summoning. He had taken some of Severus' blood, and held it in a vile. Despite Vampires being classified as "dark," in essence, they were still relatively holy in essence. And that lead to a problem. Blood of such other-than-human power would seriously limit the amount of blood needed to summon the demon, however, the angelic blood in a vampire naturally counteracts with a demon and would, in essence, neutralize the blood and turn it, quite literally, more demonic than angelic.

Plain and simple, should Demon blood be introduced into a vampire at the exact dilution as the vampire itself is removed from the original angel, the vampire would become human. However, if a normal demon put any bit more of its blood into a vampire, said vampire would…die.

Meaning, any vampire blood used in summoning a demon would be turned into little more than red water in terms of the summoning, as well as serving to weaken the blood of all others used in said summoning. Voldemort needed Demon blood for his summoning. As a shame as it was, the Dark Lord hadn't the power to summon a Demon. Demon summoning had gone out of fashion around the times that wands came in, and it seemed that the longer wands came into the play, the further wizards moved from being able to summon strong Demons again.

Voldemort knew of only one Demon. One at all, and he had every intention of sending everything he had at it until blood was collected, or he found a way around his inability to summon more than an Imp or a stone or sand or air Demon, none of which had any actual blood. And because of his difficulty, he wasn't in a good mood. All of the Death Eaters knew this. And that was why the newest recruit into the Death Eater fold was looking for ways to help. And he realized the one thing to do that would help, the one person to go after.

Potter.

And he realized how much easier it would be for him that anyone else. He was, after all, in Hogwarts just as the other 16 year old was. And he intended to do everything in his power to make sure that Potter's life was hell.

"Maybe this will get me a promotion. And one of those kick ass new masks. And maybe, just maybe, he'll get that Vampire he captured to turn me so I can get some new power."

-----


	15. Chapter 14

**FFOmega**

Part I: Bitter-Sweet Dreams

Chapter 14

Harry awoke before everyone else in his House and left his dorm room, Ron's snoring stopping his intent of an introspective moment. He went into the common room and opened one of the windows and sat on the windowsill, looking out toward the forest. One of his legs dangled out of the window, the other bent up to his chest as he sat there in the early light.

The school year would not be an easy one, academically and socially. He had thought about the incident with Ginny the whole night, and realized what little good would come of the entire situation. He could see in her eyes that it was all past remedy, unless major reconciliation happened, and frankly Harry wasn't sure if he had the time for that.

Thinking about it for just a bit longer, he sighed and got down from the windowsill and went to the bathroom after gathering his things. He didn't need to be crowded the first day so, hoping to avoid the morning rush in the bathroom, he headed to the Prefect's bathroom, and entered, thankful that the password was still the same.

-----

Kyoto awoke hanging upside down from a pipeline in a dark alleyway in a sloth-like position, latched onto the pipe by one arm and one leg. His hair was dingy and matted, and was losing its white color to brown, black and splotches of red. His clothes were soaked and the morning dew had accumulated the bottom of his eyelashes, and the moment he opened his eyes, the liquid got in and stung with the coldness.

He hated mornings. He was as far from a morning person as any other person in existence, which comes with the territory of mostly operating at night for centuries. Opening his eyes, he allowed his limbs to loosen from the pipe they held onto, and he began the fall down from a few stories up down to the alleyway below. Landing, he stood, his eyes raking from the floor and a pair of spike-heeled feet up long legs to a decidedly criminally short skirt to the t-shirt and the face of the woman before him.

Her face was slack as the figure before her had just suddenly dropped down from nowhere. She opened her mouth to speak when she caught his eyes, and her voice caught. His knotted and tangled hair was falling in what would become dreadlocks if left as they were, and his face was drawn and blank. Looking at him, she assumed he was homeless just by the state he was in. She never met his eyes, as his own eyes seemed closed against the early morning light, and were therefore barely opened.

"Hello, sir…are you in need of any kind of help? I was on my way back from work, and there is a shelter in the area I live, I can walk with you there if you like." Her blonde hair glistened in the sun, making the rays all the more harsh to his eyes. He didn't like blondes.

"Actually, you can point me west." She raised an eyebrow at his stupid question. The sun was rising in his eyes, which meant that west was behind him. She pointed behind him, and he made to walk away. As he did, he stopped and spoke away from her, but to her. "Blonde is a bad color to change your hair color to. Your natural brown was a lot better than that shit."

She stared at him as he retreated back down the alleyway. He had a very weird presence, and she was shocked that he hadn't asked at all what she was doing in an alleyway this early in the morning, having been coming "back" from work. However, before she could do much of anything, she heard footsteps. "Stop man, and gimme your wallet, or the bitch gets it!"

The figure had paused, and turned around to look in the direction he had just been facing. And she felt the barrel of a gun to her temple. "Stop, or I kill the whore." His eyes narrowed at the figure in the dark clothes, but his identity really didn't matter, he was a common crook and a thief.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to speak about a woman like that? Or was your little bastard ass learning to speak like that from you father calling you mother those words in front of you or something?" Kyoto continued to walk at a sickeningly slow pace toward the two.

"I told you to stop, or this slut gets it!"

"There you go again, talking all bad. You will live to regret it, for at least a few seconds." He walked forward, and the figure began to shake like a leaf in a hurricane. So much so that the gun fell to the ground. And as it did, Kyoto reached him, and the light flashed on his empty eyes, and they seemed to lighten somehow, but suddenly it didn't matter to the woman as she watched, because in an action too fast, he had reached up and punched the man in the face. And then grabbing him by the neck, he lifted him off of the ground.

"Now apologize to her."

"No…really…its okay." She stammered.

"I said apologize to her for making false assumptions and accusations about her!"

"Sir…it's alright, he doesn't have to do that."

"And why shouldn't he apologize for saying those things about you?"

"Well, because they are true. I'm a prostitute. Just started, actually, today was my first day and I got no business, but it's still kinda true."

Kyoto tilted his head to the side. "Oh." He turned from her and looked to the dangling man still being suspended above the ground by his neck. "Well, oh well, he couldn't have known. Regardless, I don't like his kind much." And with a twitch of his hand, the man's neck cracked and Kyoto released the now dead man and his body fell to the ground. Reaching down, he picked up the gun. He looked at it, before handing it to her.

"Take this, and take care of yourself. The business you seem to be in can be fucked up, very fucked up. Protect yourself. And if anything, take whatever he has, and get out of doing that, soon. Life living by selling your body can be horrible." She stared after him as he walked off, before disappearing into a shadow in the alleyways and seemingly disappearing completely.

-----

Baretta was having a very bad day, truthfully. He had a pistol trained on the two entrances into the building, and every so often someone would find a way in, and he would have to attack them separately. He had cleared out several rooms inside of the place, but they just kept coming.

Breaking into a vampire stronghold is never the smartest of ideas, now matter how heavily armed you are. And Baretta was realizing that he would, at the very least, have been a lot better off doing it at any time other than in the dead of night.

The room was one away from what he needed, but the little shits just kept coming, and he wasn't getting a moment to remember the schematics of the building. He got a break when one vampire he shot coming through the door staggered, backing up the swarm for a few moments. Slipping the two handguns into his pouch, he reached into one of the pockets and pulled out a device known as a riot shotgun. It fired a wide-area spread shot, and was powerful for close distances. And loading it, he kicked through the door into the room he needed to be in.

It was so packed full of the dark creatures that the entire room was like a swirling mass of black. "I came for the party, hope I meet the dress code." He muttered, before firing the shotgun at the creatures foolish enough to leap at him. The smart ones hung back, waiting until he ran out of ammo, before they attacked, and the stupid ones were blasted in the face by the shrapnel. They weren't turned to dust, as the casings were normal high-grade buckshot, but regardless of them being alive, one can rarely operate correctly with half of its head missing, regardless of species.

When the shotgun clicked and was out of ammo, Baretta swung the weapon like a bat at the diving vampire before he crouched low, sending another diving figure over his head. He stood and kicked an advancing creature in the crotch as he reloaded the shotgun quickly, and when a vampire dove at him, mouth open, it got a mouthful of the metal of the gun barrels. And pulling the trigger, the thing's head exploded and the shrapnel took out several behind him.

He cleared what appeared to be all of them after about 5 minutes and several different types of weapons. He was almost to the large safe on the other side of the room when he heard rattling of sheet metal. He looked over to the ventilation system, and identified the sound coming from there. He pulled out a handy weapon he had picked up, a short-range grenade launcher. They weren't standard grenades, much smaller and less powerful, but they could serve a purpose. And leveling it at the vent, the second it flew open, he pulled the trigger.

The projectile hit the first vampire in the face before scattering up the metal tube system and exploding. Half of the wall went missing, and bits and pieces littered the floor. When one of the few surviving the explosion was able to see after the dust settled, there was no one left in the room. And the safe was blown open and everything inside was missing.

Heading over to the emergency phone, said vampire called the main building. After 1 ring it was yanked up. "Sir, the safe-house has been compromised. The goods are gone. It was the Fallen." And the line went dead after a very deep and angry scream came before the line simply cut off.

And turning around, the vampire found himself looking down the sleek barrel of one of the famed weapons that The Fallen, Baretta, carried with him. And with a grin, he squeezed the trigger, and soon enough, the creature was reduced to dust, and not because of his vampire heritage, but because over 100 rounds had been fired into his body in several seconds.

And packing away most of what he stole into a tear, he lifted one shoebox-sized box and put it under his arm, before he started leaving the room. He stuck a gray blob on the wall and put on a metallic square before he opened a tear and found himself outside of the building. And with a smile, he pushed a button on a detonator, and with a resounding "boom" the room collapsed and, being the very center of the structure, as followed the rest of the building.

"Fuckin' Vampires…" He muttered before he walked off down the dark street.

-----

Harry moaned loudly as he stretched his back before he began to dress. After a nice shower, he had dried off for the most part, and he was about ready to head out to face the rest of the school. But as he headed toward the door, it opened, and he jumped to the side, hiding in a shower stall waiting for whoever was there to go so he could sneak back out.

And then he heard voices he recognized, and he groaned as he slammed his head against the stall door softly. "So, its settled then for the year, try and get those dances finalized, and get the House Royalty to make appearances and help organize everything."

"House Royalty?"

"Yeah, you know, The Gryffindor King, Harry, the Slytherin Queen, Blaise, the Ravenclaw Princess, Padma, and the Hufflepuff Prince, Zacharias Smith."

"Who decided that? I mean, Smith? I can only think of about 5 people who like him, and that's stretching it, so who the hell would vote for him?"

"It wasn't elected on, it was more…natural. Who everyone in the year gravitates toward." The voice paused. "Like how everyone is gravitating toward Harry since he came back. I have to admit it, he is looking damned good."

And suddenly the stall door was pulled open and Harry found himself on his back, looking up at a very underdressed Katie Bell and Lavender Brown. Actually, underdressed was an overstatement, as both were standing there, naked as the day they were born.

Groaning and slamming his eyes shut, he made to stand himself up, and the second he was standing he apologized continually while still not looking at them before he left through the door and ran all the way back to Gryffindor tower.

When he got back, he sighed and sank down onto a couch for a moment. He wasn't as tired physically as he was just mad about the coming confrontation. Deciding to not deal with it, he went up to the dorm and grabbed his things, jamming them into the white backpack before he slipped on his school robe, not even buttoning it, and placed the backpack on and left the room and the dorm. As he was leaving the common room, he saw Cleo sitting on the couches, looking dressed and ready to go.

"Hey Harry, are you going to breakfast?" Harry nodded, and the girl smiled and asked, "Do you mind if I walk with you? I'd rather not get lost on my first day. The wide-eyed, helpless look is bad for my complexion, if you know what I mean." Harry nodded to the girl, her bubbly attitude, even that early in the morning was amazing. She hopped over and clasped his hand, and they were on their way out when a voice called after them.

"Cleo, already making moves on my man are you? And Harry, look at you, leaving me for another, younger woman, I'm heartbroken." It was Bella. Harry almost smacked his forehead, remembering that the girl more than likely didn't know how to get to the Great Hall from the Gryffindor Common, and it was his duty as "doting boyfriend" to walk her. He smiled before thinking how he was going to work it, and placed his backpack down. He lifted Cleo onto his back, where she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his lower ribs, and he lifted the backpack with one arm and took Bella's hand with his other and they left.

-----

Breakfast was a muted affair for the most part. Blaise was sitting to one side of Harry, Bella across from him next to Cleo, while Hermione was at her usual spot next to him and Ron on the other side of Bella. They ate quietly until schedules were handed out. Harry stared at his schedule when he received it. He had 3 of the 4 classes he had signed up for, as well as several he hadn't.

Transfiguration, Charms and Defense were there, while Care was not. However, what was really confusing him was the 3 classes he hadn't signed up for. Advanced Defense, Advanced Dueling, and…

"Harry…what the bloody hell is 'Advanced DA' and why am I in it?" Blaise asked him. Harry looked at his schedule, seeing he too had it, and he sighed. He realized what it was, and had no idea what was going on and exactly why he was in need of 3 Defense classes. Every one of his friends had the same basic schedule as him. Hermione was freaking out as she had lost both Arithmancy and Astronomy, as she was reduced to the 6 classes she was given.

Blaise still had Potions, but it was during a time that was set aside for all 6th years for Advanced/Remedial tutoring, which meant that she would be taking classes from Snape during that time and there would be a maximum of 5 people in the class. Hermione had the Light Magic class instead of Potions during that time, Ron had another tutorial of Dueling. And Harry sat there, staring at his, as it read, plain and clear, "Dark Arts Tutorial." Bella had the same class as Blaise, which seemed to make Blaise feel a lot better about being alone in the class.

Harry's first class of the day was Defense Against the Dark Arts, the same as everyone else, and that made them all look up to the head table to look for the Defense teacher. And as they did, Dumbledore stood. "Good Morning, students. As you are all, no doubt, receiving your schedules, I suspect you are searching the head table for your Defense teacher. Well, this year, there will be a few changes. First of all, for the first time ever, there will be 2 Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers. They will work together to provide the best education for all of you in this time of war. For the 6th years, one of them shall teach the Advanced Defense course, while the other will be teaching the Advanced Dueling class.

"I would like to introduce Mr. Keith Long and Ms. Angela Madison." Two people entered the hall from a side room, looking deep in conversation. The man was of average height and fairly muscled but far from bulky, with short, cropped hair that was graying and piercing brown eyes. The woman was much younger, looking in her early 30s. She was thin and had an Asian look about her, her long black hair spiraled atop her head and held by what looked like two thin sticks.

"Mr. Long is a retired Auror and Unspeakable, who specialized in dueling, and has won many national and international dueling tournaments. Ms. Madison comes to us as a woman who did revolutionary work in spell creation, as well as defense. She was the inventor of the _Protego_ spell, the basic shielding spell, and many other less known defenses, which will hopefully not be as less-known by the end of this year. Please make them feel welcome." Applause rang out as the two sat down and began to eat. Dumbledore sat and the breakfast progressed, Harry still sitting confused as to half of the classes on his schedule it seemed.

When Breakfast ended, Blaise grabbed his hand while Bella said she would guide Cleo to her next class, and they headed to the Defense class early. When they arrived, they found the classroom was the size of three classrooms. There had been an empty classroom on the sides of the Defense classroom the years before, and it seemed that they had knocked the walls out between them to make the room much bigger, but there weren't any more chairs, less actually. Instead, they were arranged in the best places to be able to see, while there was space in the back that seemed to be there for someone or some people to stand, and in the front was a huge area set up in what seemed to be a dueling area.

Heading in, they found the woman, Angela Madison, doing stretches in the dueling area. She stood as she heard Harry come in, Blaise moving unusually silently and standing behind him, hiding from view. She smiled at them mysteriously and Harry became aware of someone walking behind them. He pulled Blaise in front of him before he spun around, putting himself between Blaise and the man, ready to strikewith wand in one hand and crouched low. The man who had snuck up on them turned out to be Mr. Long.

To anyone, it would look like he was in some kind of dueling stance, but really he had intended to collapse the teacher's chest in with a kick he had found to be very effective for such measures. The man's face slid into a smile as he observed Harry. He nodded one time, and moved to the front of the room, doing a few light hops as if to loosen up before he pulled out his wand and began to twirl it around, showing just how comfortable he was with it.

When the entire class was there, the man spoke, smiling at all of the people who had taken a seat, Harry not being one of them, and in turn, he had stopped Blaise, Bella and Ron from doing the same. There was something about the way that there weren't enough chairs to seat everyone, and how Mr. Long would look at every person that took a seat and seem to make a mental note of who they were, sizing them up. Hermione had rejected his attempts to stop her, saying that she wouldn't be able to take any notes if she was standing. And she would regret that.

"Those of you who have taken the initiative to seat yourselves, congratulate yourselves." Hermione cast a withering look at Harry, almost laced with "I told you so" in her eyes. "Because you have taken such an initiative to go ahead and not await our instructions, you may leave this class. Goodbye." And Hermione's jaw literally fell to the desk, followed almost immediately by her forehead, which rose and slammed into the table twice more. She opened her mouth to seemingly beg, when the man's barking laugh echoed out.

"That was a demonstration to those of you to know what might happen if you go off on your own supposed understanding and do not wait for us to direct you." Ms. Madison spoke with a slight smile cast toward Harry, who she had seen stopping his friends from sitting. "Now, this year will be very interesting. There will be captains, lieutenants and such, who can then organize themselves a team, and that team will have some directives to accomplish."

"How will these captains be elected?" Hermione asked, not even raising her hand as her curiosity got her, and the woman's lips slid into a smile.

"For all you know, I could say everyone who didn't take a seat. But I won't, and that wouldn't be fair." She smiled. "So we are going to have a free-for-all. A mass duel, everything goes outside of things illegal and reviving fallen students. Be creative, and don't hide in the back, trust me, we will know. Now, everyone please stand and feel free to stretch and get ready to do what you like to be prepared. Everything is allowed but illegal curses and spells, remember that. You will have 10 minutes to prepare while we set up the setting of this duel."

Harry slipped his robe off, as well as his backpack, setting them to the side. He checked to make sure Blaise's knives she had given to him were in place, before tying his hair back from his face so his peripheral vision wasn't blocked. He had read between the lines, and the illegal spells talk had basically encouraged them to fight any way they knew how. He whispered to Blaise that if they stay together, they can protect each other. She smiled and he took her hand, leaning over and kissing him. He told the same to Bella, who nodded resolutely, her ebony wand spinning in her hand. Ron had wandered over away from them to speak to someone else, so Harry wasn't able to catch him, and Hermione had pulled out a book of spells and was going through it as fast as she could.

Harry stretched for a bit, before he took a moment to clear his head, slowing his breathing and his heart rate to be calm. When it was announced that the students should come toward the teachers, they all stood and walked over. As they got there, they found the scene change before them. There was what looked like a house, only cut in half down the front so everything could be seen. There were 3 levels, as well as a large area for open battling, and walls all along the side. It was a multi-leveled dueling nightmare. It stirred many of the students there, and Blaise was one of them, but Harry squeezed her hand. He had faith in her, and he knew what kind of dueler Bella was, if she had been able to hold her own and only ever be captured once in years as a Death Eater.

He took the girls to the side, and told them his plan. "Alright, so if I know the students here, I can tell what they are going to do. Now, the Hufflepuff duo, Ernie and Justin, have been notorious for not taking a confrontation head on. I saw they were looking through a book of long-ranged spells, as well as masking and camouflage charms. They are going to head to the top level, hide, and snipe." Bella was staring at him in shock. "What?"

"That was…amazing connection." She smiled fondly at him, and Blaise ruffled the hair on his head with a smile on her face before leaning in to him, he could feel a bit of her fear leave her as he spoke.

Harry noticed Mr. Long standing near him, and the man nodded strongly at him.

"Continue Mr. Potter, this is enlightening."

"Well…The biggest threat we are going to have to deal with is Ron."

"Weasley? Why is that, he isn't the strongest in the group by any leap, I don't see what you mean." Mr. Long spoke.

"I know, and it has nothing to do with power. It's his mind, really. Look over at him, look at his numbers. I can bet you anything I own he has a team that, including him, counts out to 16." Ron was behind Harry, and there was no way he could know that, but Mr. Long looked over and nodded. "Exactly. He is going to run this like a chess game. He hasn't told his team, and Hermione might be close to realizing it, but that's what he is doing. He is going to be their King, as he will install himself in the team as a necessity, commanding them while he stays protected. He will keep Hermione, the Queen, near him."

"Why would Granger be the queen? I understand her knowledge, but why wouldn't she be the king?" Mr. Long asked. He had a pad of paper out, and was making notes seemingly.

"Think about chess. The most powerful piece, if not the most by-the-book piece, is the queen. It is the piece you can count on to be clear about its intent of who and what it is going to attack. That is Hermione in less words. The one piece that you can predict. He wouldn't put her as King because she can't think on the fly like he can, and more importantly, she couldn't lead a team if she needed to and he fell. So he is the King, the game is over if he is gone. Which is what we need to do, take him out."

"Alright, first, how are you going to do that, and second, what do you mean 'by-the-book' in terms of pieces?"

"I'll do second first. The most unorthodox piece is the knight. The one piece that moves differently than every other piece, and, in my opinion, the piece that is most likely to come out of the side and attack a piece that wasn't expecting it. That would be…hmm…Daphne and Padma. None of us have any idea what they can do, so we won't be expecting it. We are going to watch those two, Bella and Blaise, you two keep those two occupied. I'll run up and take down Ron. Hermione, if she gets in the way I will go up against her, but the team will fall apart the second Ron is down. Outside of that, those are the main teams. Once we take down the snipers, the team of 16 should have taken out most everyone else. Then when Ron is gone, they will all go free-for-all really, and we hang back and let them take each other out."

Mr. Long was staring at Harry. He motioned Ms. Madison over and pointed out what he had written. She looked to Harry and the 2 girls, and then back to the notebook. But Harry was ignoring this, "Blaise, keep the knives away unless you can't help it, Bella, watch the spells. Keep them conventional for now, and I will try and use as few spells as possible so I can try and move undetected." The three nodded and Harry slipped his wand into a long pocket on the side of his thigh.

Ms. Madison mouthed "Knives" to Blaise. She smiled and suddenly had 3 throwing knives in her hand. She had begun to juggle them, when Harry snatched them from the air without even looking directly at her, and shook his head, pocketing them. "Bad Blaise." He said off-handedly, still peering at the dueling...arena.

"Bella, do you know of any spells that can cast the entire place in darkness, even for a bit?"

Bella furrowed her brow. "Yes, but no one would be able to see in it, not even you, and if you were to cast a night-vision spell, the moment the darkness spell wore off, you would go temporarily blind, and if you cast a light charm, you would be a fast target."

"Don't worry about that. When it gets to the end, we are still going to be going up against 10 or so of the Ron's group. When I tell you, cast the charm, and I will handle the rest." Bella nodded, and hugged him.

"Be safe. And don't do anything crazy, please."

"This coming from you is damned comical." He muttered, but nodded, his eyes set in determination.

"Everyone prepared? Doesn't matter, get into your positions, and prepare."

-----

Harry had been right. "Ron's Chess Troupe" was as planned, and attacked everyone on the first level of the dueling platform. Harry, Blaise and Bella were on the stairs between the second and third levels. The spells came from the top, sniping out several of the "Pawn" members of the Troupe, and even eliminating Dean, who was acting as a "Bishop". Parvati and Lavender, the "Rooks" rushed forward and did one of the most shocking things of the day. They took out Draco Malfoy, and Vincent Crabbe. Gregory Goyle, showing agility betrayed by his size, dove to the side and fired a Knock-back Jinx, sending Parvati flying sideways, into Lavender and into yet another "Pawn." They were then stunned by the snipers. Harry held his team back until the snipers began to fire at Ron, who they would never be able to get as Hermione was simply standing there, taking out every blast they fired with either the counter, or a _Protego_ while Ron shouted attack orders.

Harry slipped up the stairs, and looked around. He saw where one of them was by the displacement of the shadow. He fired a stunning spell, dropping who turned out to be Ernie, and as Justin turned to fire on him, he dropped flat, and Blaise and Bella hit him with a combination, one girl firing "Expelliarmus" while the other, "Stupefy." Justin was sent into an unconscious state sprawled on the floor after having hit the far wall, and missing his wand.

Bella slid to the side, peering down and firing a long-range spell that paralyzed the opponent's legs, a spell the duo had been using often, to make sure no one knew that the snipers were down. Then easing to the side, Harry looked over the side of the third floor railing to the second floor, where a battle of the Hufflepuffs not part of the Chess Troupe roared against the remaining Slytherins outside of Daphne and Blaise, and the downed Slytherin leader's party. They were, for the most part, taking out each other, except for one person, who was acting much too aggressively, his spells border-lining on illegal. Zacharias Smith was doing a little too well for his own good.

Grabbing the railing and flipping off, holding on to the wooden rail sent his body onto the second level. Harry launched a Stunning spell, which Smith blocked with a Shielding spell, and sent one of his own in turn. Harry dodged, and rolled to the side, before he leapt forward and dive-tackled Smith. He then stunned the other boy, as Bella and Blaise came down the stairs. Harry looked down and looked to the girls, before motioning to the railing. They looked down, and there was the Chess Troupe.

They had, for the most part, taken the bottom floor. Seamus, the other "Bishop", was leading the remaining "Pawns" toward the stairs, while Hermione took up the rear, moving closely behind Ron. Padma was still up, as was Daphne, and they were leading the middle, looking out for anyone on the sides. Harry whispered to the girls, who nodded. And as the girls waited on the other stairs, easing down the sides as the enemies came up, Harry gave the signal, and the entire battlefield was enshrouded in darkness.

Leaping from the railing to the bottom floor, Harry smiled at his friend's predictability. He had ordered them to go up the stairs first, and he followed once it was basically clear. Which meant that, on the bottom floor, the only people left down there were Harry, Hermione and Ron, and the total darkness was leaving them pretty much alone. And being the predictable person that she was, Hermione used a _Lumos Maximus _spell, which Harry used to locate them. He could pretty much feel and almost see where they were, despite the pure darkness even before the light spell was cast.

He jumped off the wall, coming into her light just a bit before he used the wall to get distance on his jump, and kicked her wand from her hand.

The wand fell and the light lasted for a few seconds before it died. In those seconds he had spun and ducked under an impulsive spell from Ron before leg-sweeping and stunning his friend. The light came on as the girls mostly handled the enemies on the second floor, being that they had set themselves up side by side, so any blast fired forward that hit someone would hit an opponent, while the Chess Troupe had staggered, meaning Padma was taking down some of her own in the process of trying to hit the hidden assailants, as was Daphne.

Harry was looking up at them, when he heard Hermione shout "_Stupefy"_ and something in him clicked. He jumped to the side, rolling along the ground before using his momentum to pop back up onto his feet in a low crouch, one hand on the ground to steady his body, the other holding his wand. Hermione regarded him as they leveled off.

"You can't beat me, Harry, I know more spells than you." She said matter-of-factly.

"But can you cast them without your wand?" He asked, smirking slowly.

"No one can, Harry, you should know that."

"Good." He had read about a spell over the summer, something that Jamie had recommended he learn, as it was one Blaise was partial to using in their friendly duels between mother and daughter over winter break. It disarmed the opponent and/or opponents, at the cost of disarming yourself as well, moving the wands to floating in the air 10 feet above the heads of the duelers. As he blasted her with it, he caught the confused look on Ms. Madison's face as she observed, while Mr. Long had a look as if he thought he understood, but was waiting to see if he was right. "What are you doing, Harry?"

"Can you fight without your wand, Hermione? Because I can, and I very much doubt you can win." She looked stunned, and didn't know what to do for a moment before she dove to the side, grabbing Ron's wand. Harry launched forward, faster than she had seen anyone move, and was behind her, and he started toward the stairs. She blasted a shaky transfiguration that made the surface of the stairs slippery. So, as he started to slip, he used his forward momentum to run 3 steps along the wall to the side of the stairs before he jumped across and onto the railing, running up and kicking Seamus in the back, sending the boy sprawling forward. Harry continued his run, on the railing, able to look down on the bottom floor, before he jumped off of it. He grabbed a hold of his wand, and hers and landed in a low crouch. Hermione sent a disarmer at him, a series of two, one on either side of him. He stayed straight, making her miss, seeing this, she had corrected her aim, sending 4, one to either side of him and one under and one above him. He tossed his wand up, and her wand was sent back to her, and she caught it as his wand landed back in his hand.

"So, about that duel, feel up to it once more, Hermione?" Harry asked. The girl was shaken at his willingness to go up against her, and nodded slowly. Harry simply smiled and dropped down and low. She fired a stunner, and he jumped to the side, dodging it, before just jumping clear over the next spell. He ran to the side, firing stunners, which she blocked with the Shielding spell, and it was then that he realized his friend's problem. She wasn't mobile in her dueling.

And against someone as fast as Harry, that was a problem, a big one. Slipping one of the knives Blaise had given him out and into his free hand, he cast a reflecting spell on it, before he rushed her. She blanched, and fired spells, and he either dodged them or reflected them off of the knife, and Harry jumped, making to kick her. She ducked, and he landed behind her, and dropped her with a stunner to the back. He caught her before she could fall, and he slipped the knife back into its holder as Blaise and Bella came down the stairs. They hugged him, and he turned to the teachers.

Mr. Long was clapping and Ms. Madison was smiling fondly at him, the latter motioned him over while Mr. Long headed to the stairs, going up to count the number of downed opponents.

-----

Ms. Madison smiled again before looking at them 3 inquisitively. "First of all, great job you 3. Now, my first question is how you 3 were able to move so quietly? Everyone made at least some noise, and if no one guessed, there was an echoing charm on the wooden stairs, to make it clear where everyone was."

Blaise answered for them, "Well…I have some training, if you know what I mean…?" Ms. Madison squinted, before nodded slightly. "And Harry has always been able to do that. Bella charmed her feet."

"Alright. Now, who cast the Nightshade Curse?" Bella raised her hand uneasily. "Brilliant spellwork. But from there, how were you, Potter, able to move like that in the dark, and more than that, how were you able to move like that at all?"

"A spell?" He seemed to ask more than say. She shook her head.

"No, because you lost your wand, and even still, you couldn't have cast those spells moving like that, and the spellwork is too hard. I can tell natural movement, and that was all you. So again I ask, how is it that you moved like that?"

"Well…I…I can't really answer that. If you would like to know the full story, ask Professor Dumbledore, but outside of that, let's just say that there have been recent changes to my person to make it so that I can do that." She nodded.

"Alright, last question. How did you know everything that was going to get done in this demonstration?"

"Well, last year we ran a group called the DA, and it basically let me see how people operate. From there, it was connecting things. The girls worked perfectly, and they did a lot more work than me, so in a way I am guilty of 'King'-ing myself, but I think I did hold some of my own, I hope." Harry shrugged. "It was piecing things together. What surprised me was Smith. I don't know what he was doing and why, but it was very interesting watching him work." Harry wasn't going to tattle on Zacharias, but he intended to let what wasn't known stay that way, and ask the boy about it in person.

"Yes, Mr. Smith, and his just legal Dark Arts. Very disturbing, but we shall see what becomes of him. You three did amazing today with your guerilla tactics."

"Uh…gorilla? I didn't know they had magic?" Bella spoke in confusion. Harry struggled to not laugh, and simply smiled at her, as he turned to try and readjust his impartial mask to not make the girl mad.

"No, _guerilla._" Blaise enunciated.

"Yeah, gorilla." Bella repeated. After that, Harry couldn't hold it in and started laughing. Bella punched him in the arm after Blaise explained guerilla warfare quickly while Harry laughed at the girl's confused face. He held his arm in mock pain and stuck his tongue out at her as the revived students began to file down.

They all stood this time as they headed toward the chairs, and Mr. Long spoke. "Well, we shall do things like this. The people that stayed the longest will have the first choices of seating, and from there the people who were around or we feel faired the best, and they shall have a seat. Anyone who feels up to it may challenge a person for their right to sit at the beginning of each class, and they shall duel it out here, and then we shall have lessons from there."

"This year in this class we won't be covering stupid things such as dark creatures like hinkypinks or whatever the fuck those things are called." Hermione looked appalled at the woman cursing in front of the class, but Harry just smiled. The woman was human after all, and not uptight at all. "We _will_ be studying more important dark creatures, ones that the supposed 'Dark Lord' will be most likely to use. And we shall be working on spells. Those of you in the Advanced Dueling class, which Mr. Long will be teaching will be getting the most training in dueling and will be most likely to be keeping your seats this year if you work well, and on top of that, those of you who would like to petition for a spot in the Dueling class, you can go to Mr. Long, and anyone doing well in the dueling in this class may be asked if they would like a spot."

"On the other hand, those of you in Advanced Defense will be working with Ms. Madison on the spellwork. Also, you will be going into aspects concerning spell creation, as well as using the things around you to defend yourself. The induction system into that class works the same, meaning anyone doing well in this class in one or both aspects may be approached with a chance to join the advanced class that is equivalent to your success. While we aren't allowed to just send someone from this class, if you can not handle the way that this class works, either the coursework, the dueling, or anything else, we can demote you to the 5th year class. This will severely hurt your chances of being able to take the NEWT in Defense."

"Homework is an analysis of your role and or roles in this duel. Do not overstate things that you did or state you did things you didn't as lying isn't the best plan and will hurt you more than help you if you get caught. And you will get caught." Mr. Long took a moment to look menacing before smiling and continuing to speak. "Next class we will be going through a transcript of the entire Duel and we will go over what was done well and badly in two groups. That is all, and have a nice day." And with that everyone headed toward the door. Harry looked at his schedule, and saw he had Charms. He headed out of the door and down the corridor. As he did, he entered and saw Flitwick speaking to Cleo.

"Harry!" She exclaimed and ran over and hugged him. He smiled and lifted her easily, so she was holding onto him, and he held her to the side of his hip.

"This young lady has had advanced tutelage. She mastered _Wingardium Leviosa _in moments, and moved on. She covered _Lumos_ as well as _Nox_ and even started work on _Finite_." Harry smiled at her, hugging her happily. Several students in his class entered, and Hannah smiled as she saw her sister smiling and laughing as Harry spun her around in the air. He set her down, and she hugged him before staggering out of the room, trying not to fall down as she left to her next class. As she left, Hannah made to hug her, and the younger girl gave her the finger, and pushed her sister in the side and out of the way before she left the room.

"So, you and Cleo getting close I see. Taking care of her?" Hannah asked, still looking slightly dejected that her sister wanted nothing to do with her. Harry shrugged, and then he took a seat, awaiting the class' beginning. He was still filled energized from the duel, and needed to do something before he started to shake and did something nonsensical like jump out of the window just to do something with himself. It seemed Demons had a shorter ability to cope with energy and even worse, being bored. Yes after a few minutes into the class Harry decided, Demons have A.D.D.

The class was, in a word, boring. And by the time lunch came, Harry was so restless that he felt like running laps around the Great Hall. However, he sat quietly and ate, not even participating in the conversations going on. He ate silently before he headed to Transfiguration. As he was heading there, he heard Blaise's voice.

He turned around, as the girl had taken "Cleo duty", wanting to meet the young girl who had since become what seemed like Harry's baby sister, even though the girl refused to be called that, wanting instead to be looked at as the youngest of Harry's female friends, but the way it was phrased almost seemed to inspire a thought of romantic attachment, so no one really referred to her as that.

He headed over toward where her voice yelled from, and found her being pulled back by Bella, as Dean and Seamus were holding Zacharias Smith, as the boy's nose bled. "Touch me like that again and I will cut your fucking hand off!"

"What the hell happened here?" Harry demanded.

"He grabbed her arse, Potter. It was a shame really, as it didn't even look like a bloody well accident. Idiot, really." Draco Malfoy said, in a way as to make it sound mocking, but it gave the information Harry needed in a way that sounded off-handedly comedic.

"He did what!" Harry shouted. He looked to Smith, and had to resist the urge to hit the boy as, with his surge of energy, he might not stop and kill the boy. But Blaise looked about ready to do that herself. As Zacharias stood, he laughed.

"Ah, Potter can't stand thinking that his girlfriend might have liked it? What, ickle Potty too virginal to touch her the way she likes. Knows damn well the bitch likes to be touched, likes it rough. I can give it to her, no one she's dating could ever do it like me."

Suddenly he was on his back, and Bella was holding her hand. "She's dating me too, bitch, think you can do it better? Think you can do it without that itty-bitty shit between you legs?" And she pulled back and kicked him in the groin so hard he slid across the floor. He groaned loudly, tears showing in his eyes. "Didn't think so." And she spit down on him before taking Harry's hand in one of hers and taking Blaise's in her other, and they walked to class.

-----


	16. Chapter 15

**FFOmega**

Part I: Bitter-Sweet Dreams

Chapter 15

Harry's day in Transfiguration would go down amazingly as one of the most awkward classes ever. Because, before the end of it, a misfired spell from their own professor left him, for the most part, naked from the waist up the moment that Colin Creevey came in and was doing pictures. The boy apparently was heading the committee for something called a "yearbook" for the school, and was given permission from Dumbledore to take pictures of the classes. As he had, McGonagall has been demonstrating on her desk how it was possible to transfigure an object to change its consistency so it looked or felt differently.

She had been intending to make her desk see-through. The flash of the camera had caused her to blink and her aim to falter, and she hit Harry, and he stood there, as he had been about to go up and hand in his transfigured work. And as his shirt disappeared, one girl, Mandy Brocklehurst, fainted, Parvati started fanning herself, and Blaise put her head in her hands, before she started thumping it on the desk. Since the display in the hallway, Harry had been placed in their seating between the two girls, and no one really intended to harass Harry as long as he was with Bella.

If there was one thing that Blaise didn't like much, it was being looked at as the "weak" one or the one that had to be taken care of. Bella had meant well, and she was sure that Harry would have done worse, but either of them doing anything would make everyone forget her breaking the boy's nose. And that meant that people would start looking at her as the weak link in the relationship.

If there was one thing she didn't want happening, it was that. Because if other people started thinking that, then she was worried Harry would as well. The girls were all staring at him, and as long as Bella was there, they wouldn't do anything for fear of their own lives it seemed, but no one seemed to be looking at Blaise as any kind of competition. And the brunette's eyes narrowed and she tried to hold back what she was praying weren't tears.

When his shirt situation was corrected by the flustered teacher, Harry sat down. He slid his hand into Blaise's. The girl's head was down and she was tensed, and he held her hand, before running a hand along her back. She was distraught, and he didn't know why, but he intended to find out. He had agreed to help Bella out, and was glad the girl had defended Blaise like she had, but something about the thing seemed to be tearing Blaise up inside, and Harry wasn't about to let anything hurt her if he could help it.

The moment class was over, he grabbed her and pulled her to the side, and they hung back as the crowd dispersed for their tutorial times, electives or free periods. He held her there, and then looked at her. And he pulled her to him and kissed her deeply. When the kiss broke, she looked down. "Blaise…" She still wasn't looking at him. "Blaise…" He tried to lift her chin to make her look at him, but she seemed to be looking at everything but him. There was something in her eyes that made him worried.

"Gaby…wha…what's wrong?" He was panicking. Something about the way she was avoiding his eyes made him worried. "Did I do something wrong? I am so sorry, Blaise, I am _so_ sorry for whatever it was, I swear whatever it is, I didn't mean it! How can I fix it…stupid…" By the end of his tirade, which was induced by her silence, he was mentally beating himself up.

Blaise grabbed his wrist and looked up at him. She looked to his eyes. She felt so worthless to him. And she spoke to him, "I…I just don't know what to do, I feel so worthless. Like, you need Bel-" Before she could even begin to speak about Bella, or anything else about feeling worthless, he grabbed her and kissed her deeply before holding her to him.

"Blaise, listen to me, and listen well. Understand this. You are the only one I need right now. The _only_ one. Everyone else, I would love to have with me, but if they were to go, I think I could find a way to function correctly. At this point, though, if you left, I have no idea what I'd do from there. You are my anchor, Blaise, the one thing that is holding me here. Kyoto told me that, basically, you are the one thing stopping me, from becoming him."

"Wha…what do you mean?"

"I mean, that you are the one person stopping me from slipping into becoming like him, which, according to him, is a very good thing that you are here. It's in me, we were similar people, horribly similar people, even before the Turning, and now, there is just one thing stopping me from becoming like him, and that's you." He held her, kissed her softly. "So don't go off like that with me, don't go thinking you are worthless. You are the only thing of worth that I have that I care about. The money and all of that rubbish, I couldn't care less, but you…please don't fall apart on me, babe, I need you here."

He held her closely to him, and she began to tear up slightly. She looked up to him and kissed him softly, before it got deeper. Breaking off, they started to walk together. About 5 minutes later, Blaise realized she had no idea where they were going.

"Oh, did I forget to tell you? I got you a Gryffindor Tower permit. So, cutie, would you like to follow me back to the lion's den?"

"Well, I was going to hell anyway, so, why not." They laughed as they walked hand-in-hand to Gryffindor Tower. Harry told her the password at the same time as he gave it to the Fat Lady, and together, they entered the Common.

-----

Kyoto was having a bad day. He staked out his old loft, and found that the woman herself, Rose Brown, had moved into the place on stake-out, 2 of her armed men patrolling the area constantly, attempting to look inconspicuous and undercover.

Leaving that place, he had run into the girl. She was a very awkward sort, and he knew what she did the moment he saw her. It was all in the walk. He sighed low in his throat seeing her. It was a sad life for her, and it was no accident that he had run into her, none at all. He almost cried when he saw her. She looked so much like her mother.

Years before, before his most recent death and subsequent rebirth thanks to his sister killing the man who killed him, he had met a girl. Her name had been Erica. She had had an amazing personality, had cared about him, and the most wonderful body that seemed to mold into his perfectly. And he saw it in the girl he had met the current day.

Her…His daughter.

He had little emotional attachment to her, she wasn't in any way connected to the person he was now, but she was connected to his soul. He had found her, and she hadn't known him. He hadn't expected her to. But he needed to see her, even just for a little bit.

The biggest thing making his day horrible, however, was the fact that, once again, the woman, Lulu, had found him. And she was about to ask more questions. Before she could even ask, however, he shouted at her. "If you have to be here, get out of the way. If you get in the way, I will kill you. He will kill you." And then there was the echoing sounds of someone coming. The man was fairly tall, wearing a gray duster and he was holding a steel case.

"Demon scum."

"Fallen piece of dog excrement."

The two men eyed each other, before Baretta handed over the steel case. Kyoto looked at it and nodded, before he set it down. "Up for a round?" Baretta shook his head. They were silent for a moment, before Kyoto suddenly pulled back and punched Baretta in the face. Hard. Lulu stared, as the hit would have possibly removed the jaw of many men, but it barely turned Baretta's head.

"You sent whoever this bitch Rose Brown is, after me? She's staking out my damned place! I _do not_ need fucking Scotland Yard on my back. You don't exist. Me, I exist more than anyone else on this planet. If they decide to try and capture me because of the Shadow thing all those years ago, are you going to come and save them?"

"Demon, know to whom you are speaking."

"Shut the fuck up, you fucking bastard, do not start with me. Do you have any idea who the _fuck_ I am? Do you have any _inklings_ what I will do to you. So what you can't die. I can make it that you can't move. Feel like being a vegetable? Do you want to find yourself with your stupid guns jammed up you ass? Listen to me, and listen closely. _I. Will. Kill. You._" Kyoto looked down at Baretta, his long white hair seemed to look even whiter, and his skin was becoming drawn. His eyes were cast in some kind of shadows and weren't able to be seen. His body tensed and he flexed his hands.

Baretta looked at Kyoto, before Kyoto hit him again, this time with a right cross that actually brought Baretta down to one knee, and Kyoto took the case and with one jump, disappeared. Baretta stood and spit to the ground, a huge glob of blood sitting there before it began to fizz and bubble and soon it was gone, and there was nothing but a dip in the pavement and a black spot where the blood had been.

"Shadow, what has become of you? How is it that you have found a way…the wall is falling, Darkness, and I do hope that you find a way to survive it." Baretta muttered before he stretched his back slightly and he turned and started to leave. Lulu approached apprehensively, but found herself looking as two guns leveled at her. He had spun quickly, and was aiming at her. However, before she could do much of anything, the man looked up and seemed to be listening to something, and he turned, and seemed to cut open a rip, and he stepped through and disappeared.

Lulu sighed and left the scene, wondering what this "wall" was, and when the next time she would be able to locate Kyoto was. She was finding him more and more intriguing the more she learned about him. He had power, and she intended to learn it, and if she could, get his help in taking down her enemies. If not, she very much hoped that he wouldn't become an enemy, because whoever this "Shadow" was, people that know Kyoto talking about him every so often was freaking her out. What was it that made this "Shadow" more to fear than the high-leaping, white-haired demon she kept running into?

-----

Ginny's eyes raised up from her book the moment Harry and Blaise entered. Blaise was on Harry's back, and she was acting as if she was a cowgirl riding a horse, and was laughing loudly as Harry mocked a gallop into the room. He looked under no strain as he carried her, and through maneuvering, he swung her from his back into his arms, and he dropped her to the couch. She was still laughing as he tickled her for a moment before he ran up the stairs to drop off his bag.

Cleo was in the corner talking about something in secret with Bella, but they were still in the room, which left the common room fairly tilted toward what Ginny believed to be "Blaise's Side" of thing. Logically, she should have wanted nothing to do with anyone there at the current time, as she was outnumbered. But something that many would come to realize is, sometimes "true Gryffindors" don't always operate on logic.

"So, ran up here as soon as you possibly could have the moment you got that pass, I see. Had to rub it in everyone's faces, didn't you. No one wants you here, understand that before you get comfortable." Ginny was pushing all the meanness she could into that statement, which wasn't exactly in her nature. But something in the back of her mind was stirring her on toward saying more. "Why can't you stay under your little rock in the dungeons, snake, and leave us to our own kind. Lions don't breed with scaly bottom-feeders, they breed with other lions."

The room's sound died as these words left Ginny's mouth, and right as Blaise's eyes narrowed, Ginny kept talking. "Don't know what you want with Harry, shouldn't you be licking at Malfoy's boots, or such other things, you whore. He doesn't need you," and as Blaise was diving at Ginny, ready to rip the redhead's hair out, hair by individual hair, Harry caught her in the air. He had been coming by the stairs, and had reacted as fast as possible, grabbed Blaise in the air and holding her as the girl thrashed and kicked and flailed, attempting to rip into Ginny. She was incoherent in her yelling and anger, but for the most part, it was not good.

At one point, Cleo covered a nearby 3rd year's ears, which looked very funny considering her lower year, while Bella flinched and muttered, "Can you really do that with a quaffle and a beater's bat?" Harry scowled at the situation, before lifting Blaise up over his shoulder like a fireman's carry and carried her up the stairs. She was still clawing at him when he dropped her on his bed. He kissed her hard, and pulled her so she was looking at him. She was crying even as she was angry, and he knew why. Ginny had hit low. Blaise had just had a breakdown about him needing her, or not needing her, and Ginny had hit an open wound.

She was scared. As he looked at her, he leaned down and kissed her hard. "Merlin, Blaise, you mean so much to me." And he kissed her again and then, making sure she was calm, walked her hand-in-hand back down to the common room. There was a little spurts of red hair along the carpet and toward the stairs, little spots of red up the girl's stairs, and Hermione sitting there, seemingly filing her nails with her wand.

"What just happened here?" Harry asked, as he saw Cleo holding in a laugh, and Bella under a silencing charm, laughing so hard she was on the floor, rolling back and forth in tears.

"Nothing…much." Hermione muttered, before standing and seemingly floating out of the common room, a bounce in her step. Harry cocked his head and stared after his friend, before he kissed Blaise and walked over to look down at Bella. The girl had stopped laughing seeing Blaise looking down and got up and stroked the girl's hair silently and softly. She kissed Blaise on the forehead, as the girl sat on a loveseat, before she sat on the arm. Harry sat on the other arm, and stroked her hair continuously, but Blaise rose and moved him into the seat, and she sat on the arm.

Harry felt loved, truly, as Blaise took his hand, while Bella leaned to the side against the back of the chair, stroking his hair as if it was a long-time habit as they spoke about the classes of the day.

-----

The next morning, Harry awoke and washed up, this time in the normal bathroom, still before everyone awoke. He was by no means a morning person, just more that he found that he was needing, and therefore getting, a lot less sleep, since he and Blaise stopped sleeping in the same room. He would awaken 3 hours after he fell asleep, feeling completely rejuvenated physically, but as if he had never been asleep mentally. Emotionally, he was falling apart. Of course, it didn't help that he awoke and stumbled, falling face first onto the tile floor. He turned and looked, seeing Colin asleep on the floor with his camera. The boy was waiting up for a picture of Harry getting ready to shower.

The trip didn't awaken Colin, so he went to a shower stall and cast a silencing charm. He showered and left, dressing before the boy awoke. He walked down the stairs and went down to the common room. It was still early, too early for anyone else to be up. He headed down to the grounds, and put down his bag and began some stretches Kyoto had taught him. He finished before he thought about running around the grounds. He saw no reason to do so, so, instead, he began to do some of the martial arts katas Blaise had taught him.

Starting off with mostly kicks, moving slow and deliberate, he soon sped up. After finding the katas lacking in any type of variety, he began mixing moves with dodges and acrobatic maneuvers. He was not exceedingly good at it starting out, as he was fighting an invisible opponent, but the overall variety of his movements was fairly high considering. It all just felt right to him, certain moves coming before he thought about them.

Suddenly he became aware of a presence coming toward him. He turned and looked, and there was Blaise. She was dressed in what looked like a leotard, but with one of his button-up flannel shirts on over it, the bottom buttons undone and tied. The sleeves were rolled up, and she was holding two of her knives in her hands. "Nice, babe. But I'm still, and will always be, better."

This was a challenge and they both knew it. He pulled off his robe, and dropped it to the floor. With a quick and practiced movement, he withdrew his two knives, and held them in the way she had taught him, the handle in his closed fist, with the blade pointing downward, away from his thumb. She did the same, and instead of going into her normal crouch, she spun the blades once more before leaping straight at him, a downward slash at him.

Doing a back flip away, he brought the blades of the knives up into an X shape as she came down with a harsh downward slash, he used one blade to push her attack to the side, swinging the other knife down to block her thrust with the other knife. He used the same defensive move to block a double-bladed attack, before pushing her back using his shielding move to get some distance. He ran at her and did a twisting no-handed flip over her, making to slash at her. She moved, but there was a thin cut, and as she moved, the shirt she wore showed a long cut down the back. She scowled at him before kicking out.

Her kick caught him in the thigh. It wasn't a strong kick, but he realized what it was for later, as she used the kick to step up his slightly bent leg just enough to spin and kick toward his head. He ducked just in time, and as she spun away from him, he gave her a light kick to the back. She used that forward momentum to roll into somersault, but as her feet came to the ground, she pushed backward, sending her at him with her back to him, her elbow out to hit his face. He ducked it, but this let her shoot over him and place her knife to neck.

"I win." She said confidently. Until she felt a poking at her chest. His knife was poking at her heart. She jumped back as he slashed with the other knife, before she leapt and slashed as he was off balance, grazing his jawbone just a bit. He kicked the side of her leg, and she fell, and he pinned the arm with the knife that had cut him and held the blade, trailing it up and cutting away the buttons on the shirt.

He felt a trailing as well, and saw her trailing the non-sharpened edge of the just slightly curved daggers they both were using along his thigh, before she poked at the groin area on his pants. "Yeah, you win." He replied, smiling sheepishly. He slid the daggers back into the holders and helped her stand. He kissed her deeply, before he turned her around and wrapped his hands around her hips, walking so her entire back from head to legs were pressed against him. She placed her feet on his, and he walked them to the castle.

"You know, since you ruined this shirt, I should get another one." She said, teasingly. He knew there was no point in arguing with her, and he simply nodded. She looked at the one he wore before smirking. "I want that one. And don't worry, I'll remove it myself." And she shoved him into a broom closet.

-----

That morning, Harry and Blaise showed up late to breakfast. All eyes were on them, and it seemed that there were several pictures moving around of the battle the two had had, including one where Harry actually won, but that was one out of about ten pictures, all acting out different actions and battles. Mr. Long was eying the two of them with a faint ghost of a grin, while Ms. Madison looked about ready to burst in excitement, looking from Blaise to Harry and back again, smiling brightly.

It seemed the whole castle knew about the morning match between Blaise and Harry. The two Defense teachers looked in variable states of glee, Dumbledore looked deep in thought, and McGonagall and Snape both looked in varying degrees of shock. Taking a seat at the Gryffindor table, Blaise took Harry's hand, leaning her head on his shoulder for a moment. Blaise laughed as she saw all of the knives within the general area of where she and Harry sat were missing, and piled at the ends of the table, away from them. Harry, on the other hand, was trying to figure out exactly why Ginny was sitting directly across from him. Cleo was on one side, and Bella the other, and it looked like they had been shoved apart by the girl.

Her hair was noticeably different, a deeper color, bordering reddish brown. It was shorter than it had been, that was clear, and she looked to be under the influence of a hair-lengthening potion, given out by Pomfrey only when a subject lost all of their hair by some means. This was clear, as within five minutes of breakfast, she had a good few inches of red roots. Hermione must have done a number on the girl, Harry figured.

She was batting her eyelashes, and suddenly Harry felt something along his leg. It was Ginny's foot. And it was sliding up along his leg. He was drinking at the time, and in his shock he sprayed his drink in his mouth out and forward. The end result was Ginny covered in milk. He coughed a few times before there was silence. He coughed some more, but it was obviously hiding his laughter, Blaise doing the same, along with Hermione. They were "coughing" rather loudly when Dumbledore stood and spoke. "Does the Gryffindor Table need to see Madam Pomfrey? Possibly some throat lozenges? A lemon drop perhaps?"

This inspired real laughter, and it continued for some time. Breakfast ended quickly, and soon it was time for Advanced Dueling. Harry grabbed Blaise's hand and shoved his hand deep into his pocket in a deliberate move, and Bella realized what he was doing, and the girl walked over and slid her hand into Blaise's. They headed into class to see Mr. Long standing to the side, twirling a long metal staff expertly. He looked up to them and smiled, seeing them not sitting. He pointed over toward the side wall, where they all lined up. He made to move a very large table over, attempting to drag it, and called for help.

Dean, arguably the most muscular-looking in the class, was asked to help, and he struggled and couldn't lift his side of the table. He asked why they didn't levitate things, but was told that the things on the table were very magic-sensitive. Long went through all of the males, almost seeming to avoid asking Harry until the end. Ron had just gone, and had struggled a fair amount, a bit less than Dean, but still he wasn't able to help move it more than a foot. Long was holding his end of the table up the whole time as if it was nothing but a lightly-stuffed pillow.

Finally he looked to Harry. Harry walked over without needing instruction and made to make it seem as if he couldn't lift the table. The man narrowed his eyes at him and spoke so the class could hear. "Mr. Potter here is purposely not lifting the table. This class will not progress for anyone until someone can help me move this large table without magic, so it is in everyone's best interest that he not hold back." Harry sighed, looking at the man, and, bending his legs as he was told, he lifted the table with ease. He walked it over and placed it down gently, without slamming it down or anything. He walked back to his spot, ignoring the eyes on him.

"Thank you Mr. Potter. Now, on this table will be your best friend, your partner, your lover. On this table will be you weapon and or weapons for this class besides your wand. This thing, you will eat, sleep and breathe with, if possible. You will form a bond with this weapon. Now, the key thing to understand is the trust being put in all of you to do the right thing with these. You will be like school Aurors, more so than the prefects, and those of you who are prefects, then this is added responsibility.

"Rule one, you will not act in a duel and use your weapons against an opponent without them. Two, you will not use these to seriously harm or maim anyone. You will be drawn to your weapon, and they will be used in this class and held until bonding happens. They are not to be used in Defense class unless used against another in this class."

Everyone stared. There had been no documentation of weapons being used in the school in a very long time, and they were all shocked that they would be using them in a class. He instructed them all to take a moment to get in touch with themselves, as that would be how the selection process was made, and any tainting or changing factors would decrease the magic's ability to match the student up with the weapon for them.

He walked over to Blaise and Harry, and spoke softly. "We all know about the knife fight this morning, so I understand that you both have your knives, which are clearly your weapons of choice, so you may sit out of this, or you may see the weapons you will be presented with."

"Actually, sir, I am not as comfortable with knives and such as Blaise is. I use swords much better." The man nodded. "And I think we might as well see what weapons we will be given. My question is what is the reason for this class with the weapons and such, as well as what we will be doing with them and how important they will be this year."

The man smiled at Harry, before he spoke loudly so the class could hear, repeating Harry's questions. "First of all, the weapons are going to be key in this class, and we will not be doing very much dueling with them or at all until the bonding happens. This occurs as these magically crafted weapons become…enamored, if you will, with their user, and begins to take on traits similar to the owner, as well as take on a shape and general alteration is the weapon's existence to make it easier for the user to weild. It is a conscious feed on the owner's magic, slight but there, that causes the weapon to alter, and due to these alterations, they change so that the user can not be hurt by their weapon. This is of mass importance as, all we need is someone getting decapitated trying to throw their own chakram or something equally as dumb."

"How will we know what weapon we will get?" Blaise asked, looking slightly concerned.

"It really depends. Some people will get weapons meant to cover for their tendencies concerning magic, while others will get weapons to that lean toward their strengths. Others, will get something completely different altogether."

He moved Hannah over toward the table and pulled off the metallic-looking cloth. In front of her were an assortment of hook-like weapons, they were all sharp but hooked. She lifted a pair that shined in the light, and held them, before walking away, staring at them.

Next up was Bella, she squeezed Harry's hand and Blaise's before walking up to the front. And in front of her were what looked to be gauntlets of some kind. She lifted a pair that were golden in color, and looked almost made out of chain-mail, except the fact that it looked solid at one point, but had the crisscrossing design etched in. She slid them on and flexed her hands.

Susan was next, Mr. Long covering the table with the metallic cloth again before pulling it off for her, and she was presented with a group of cleavers, large, one-handed bladed weapons, with the blade large and square. She picked one up and walked away as well.

The first shock was Justin. He walked up, and everyone expected something like a bow and arrow set or something like that. But he was presented with a group of shield and short-sword combinations. He lifted an English short sword, and a circular shield to be worn on one arm. Ernie got a similar combination as well, something that had a lot of people confused.

Soon it was Harry's turn. He walked up and waited, as the man pulled the metallic cloth off the table to reveal Harry's weapon choices. And there on the table,

Was absolutely nothing.

The surface of the table was swirling in a pit of black, almost like reverse-ripples in a lake, the wave coming from the corners of the table and hitting in the middle and sinking in, before repeating continuously. Harry stared at it, before Mr. Long covered the table again and pulled the cloth off again.

There on the table was a pair of what almost looked like fingerless gloves. Only one pair, and this was weird, since everyone else had at least a choice of some kind. Harry observed them, they were made out of a leather-like material that he identified as a hide of some type. There was some kind of metal piping along the seams, and studs of metal on the knuckles. He picked them up, shrugging, before turning to go back. Mr. Long placed the metallic sheet back down, and Harry slipped them on and walked away. He flexed his hands a few times, feeling the gloves, they seemed almost like they were made similar, if not the same, as the boots he wore, feeling a slight weight, but also an understated power.

Dean's weapons were large war-axes, a weird compliment to Seamus' war-hammer, and he lifted a large, two-sided axe that looked incredibly heavy, and he did it with a fair amount of ease. He walked over to Seamus and they both laughed, and spoke quietly, comparing their weapons.

Finally it was Ron's turn. When he went he saw a table full of shields. The shield he was drawn to was, at the very least, half his height, but looked to be more. It was long and fairly wide, but just thinner than the width of his shoulder. He lifted it and looked thoroughly disappointed as he walked away.

Last to go in the class was Blaise, and she looked fairly nervous. And when she stood in front of the table, and the cloth was pulled off, the girl nearly fainted, and Bella stared in complete and utter shock as she lifted the weapons she was drawn to. It was a thin pair of blades, curved but a lot longer than she usually used, and they were a greenish-silvery color on the handles, and the blade was a silver. They were beautiful weapons, and they had snakes curling along the handles and along the base of the blades. They were beautiful, and seemed to show pure Slytherin elegance. And it was clear why as there was writing along the base. "Alonzo" on one, and "Alphonse" on the other.

As she walked back, Blaise looked to Harry, in a daze. "Who are Alonzo and Alphonse?" Harry asked. Bella and Blaise answered at the same time.

"Slytherin's sons."

"He had them crafted by the same man who made the Gryffindor sword, in anticipation of his children being born. However, the children were never born, as his wife was killed by a muggle mugger, as legend says, the reason he started to hate muggles. The weapons were lost, apparently, right before he disappeared from the school." Bella continued, as Blaise stared at her weapons. Mr. Long gave them all a moment to get "acquainted" with their new "companions" as he called them. Harry looked at the gloves before he began to do some punches with them on, getting used to having them on.

Bella was stretching her hands in the gloves before suddenly from the top of the hand, a small blade came out. It only came out a small bit. She stared at it for a bit, before finally figuring out how to retract it. She smiled darkly before jamming her hands back into her pockets, wanting no one to see the development.

After a while, Mr. Long spoke loudly. "Class, I will give you your assignments now. This class will be more open-ended, as I am not as good at lesson-planning as Ms. Madison, therefore I have nothing planned anyways. So you will be researching what your weapons do and uses for them, or pass usage through history. Ms. Madison will talk to you about Enchanting, for those of you in her Advanced Defense class, and it will be possibly to enchant these weapons, but only after they have bonded with you.

"These weapons will bond with you best with a drop of your blood, so that they can be tuned to you, and it will be possible to call them back to you should you ever be dumb enough to misplace them. But take heed, my staff here, I attuned to me with a mix of my blood and some blood from my familiar, which was something called a flame sprite. Chimera, which is the staff's name, can release a blast of fire with certain attacks, and generally anyone who comes in contact with it outside of me, be it through attack or simply touching it, will receive a slight burn."

Everyone nodded, and Mr. Long suspected that Dumbledore would be receiving a good deal of visitors for Fawkes. However, none would receive blood from the phoenix, as they almost never gave their blood unless killed, it was in a phoenix's nature.

Harry intended to wait a bit before he put the blood on, as the teacher suggested that they wait so research could be done on what they wanted their weapon to be able to do. Blaise immediately rushed over to the teacher to see if he had any sheaths for the blades, and the man smiled at her eagerness, she was the first to ask so far. He nodded and pointed her over to the cabinet, which she opened and found long strips of leather. "Get to work." He shouted to her. He expected anger, but the girl took some leather and stuffed it in her bag and nodded to him.

Harry walked over and looked around before he found something that looked like dragon hide. Mr. Long had walked over, as Harry was last to go over, and saw what the boy was holding. "You don't need sheathes for your gloves, and dragon-hide is usually only used for incredibly powerful or dark weaponry, and the knives you carry do not radiate that energy…although something on you does…" He muttered the last part, and Harry chose to act as if he hadn't heard it.

"It's not for the knives. I have this sword…it…it's in a metal case right now, but trust me, if anything needs this kind of protection, that sword does. If I need to pay you for it, then I will, but for the safety of everyone else, I have to make sure that that weapon is properly protected." Mr. Long observed him, before nodding. Harry turned and left. As he walked out, Blaise was waiting for him. Bella had opted out of Advanced Defense, instead wanting to take Arithmancy at the time. Blaise smiled at him nervously before speaking.

"Harry…he spoke about having a magical creature add some blood to the owners when the weapon is bonded…Well, I was wondering…"

"You wanted to go and see Fawkes? Go ahead."

"No…it's just that, well, I don't know how magical a Demon is considered, but I was wondering if you would add some of your blood to mine."

Harry was silent for some time, this had caught him off guard. He saw how much she was in love with her weapons, he saw that immediately, and if his thoughts were correct, "You know that would probably mean that they would bond to me as well, right?"

"Yes, but the story says that they were created by a part-demon blacksmith, and I am hoping that the full potential will come out. Besides, its not like I won't just take them from you if you start playing with them too damned much." She finished with a smile as he nodded at her and smile, before he kissed her.

"I'll do it after this next class, we are almost late." And taking her hand, they went back into the classroom for Advanced Defense. Blaise felt a surge of energy as she touched his hand that was covered by the glove, and a pulse shoot through her left hand, where the jewelry he had made for her had sunk into her body, which was weird. Because he had grabbed her right hand.

-----

Arriving to Advanced Defense, they were first outside of the few who had both classes who had chosen to not leave the class. Harry and Blaise stood in the back, knowing how the professors operated, and laughed at the people who walked in and sat, having not learned since Defense class. When Ms. Madison arrived, she smiled at Blaise and Harry before heading over to them. She wasn't tall, and up close, Harry saw how pretty her eyes were. She was, without a doubt, the hottest older woman he had seen since he last saw Jamie.

"You both probably know that everyone pretty much saw or heard of your match this morning. That was beautiful work, and it will give me a good chance to work out your agility and ability to some extent. Now, you two are alright with me splitting you up so the class can be in two different groups to learn from you two, right? Good, then…" She seemed to assume her question would be answered in the affirmative. All it did was drag the old Blaise back out from wherever she had been stashed to let "Insecure Blaise" out.

"No. No, you may not split us up." She said powerfully. Hermione had heard, and quite literally almost choked. Harry glared at his friend, watching as he saw exactly how much like her mother his girlfriend was. "We work well together, and I really have no desire to be some kind of team leader or something like that. Make Granger a leader, we both know that she was the real mastermind behind the success of her group yesterday, she lasted the longest outside of our team, and our team only lasted that long because of Harry's planning. So I think if you need your two groups, you have them." And after she finished talking, she seemed to shut down to any discussion on anything she said.

Ms. Madison looked at them and smiled slowly. "Ms. Zabini, I think I am going to fall completely in love with you by the end of this class." She then spoke loudly so the class could hear her. "See class, the key to Defense in general, is confidence. You can't be, for lack of a better term, a little bitch, if you intend to defend and come out alive. You can't be scared of challenging the norm and challenging the mold of spells if you intend to do spell creation." Hermione was staring in shock at the entire exchange, Blaise had just gotten congratulated and applauded for defying a teacher.

"Now, the first term of class will be all about the magical ability to defend one's self, and, or, others. Many say that the best defense is a strong offense, and to those people, I say, we shall see. The first few classes, we will look at each of your specific affinities for certain types of defense, be it attacking or standing as a solid defense."

"How will we do this?" Hermione asked, not even raising her hand as she seemed to be bubbling in her interest on the subject.

"Ms. Granger, why don't you come up here, and we will see." Hermione stood and walked toward her. She pulled at her wand as the other woman did the same, and they squared off. "Defend yourself however you must."

Hermione stood there for a moment, and Ms. Madison launched a stunning spell at her. Hermione used _Protego_ on it, and Ms. Madison smiled before sending another spell, the same color as the stunning spell, mostly, only slightly darker. Hermione made to do the same thing, but the spell seemed to slide right through the shield and hit the girl. After reviving her, Ms. Madison smiled at Hermione confusion.

"How could you puncture the shielding spell! Stunners can not get through except by an incredibly powerful wizard, such as Professor Dumbledore, it's impossible! The spell weaving in the shield spell is at 2.153 mils with a power of 3 to an exponential to be determined by the caster's…" Ms. Madison looked like she was going to laugh, as Blaise slapped her forehead and Padma started laughing. "What?"

"Hermione, she invented the goddamned spell, obviously she knows how to get through it." Groaned Dean, and Hermione scowled at him. Smiling, Ms. Madison nodded, before speaking loudly again.

"That was another example of a spell one can make. A simple stunning spell that passes through a typical shielding charm, as long as the power in the spell is, at the very least, similar. Something else we will be doing this year is some moderate enchanting. Not all of you will have skill in this, and this can not be used on your assigned weapon for Advanced Dueling until the weapon is bonded, so don't even think about it." Hermione looked baffled, as she was one of the few in the class not from the Dueling class.

Ms. Madison went into the theory of spell creation, saying that the intent was every bit as important as the magic. Hermione looked confused and moderately angry as the woman spoke about the uses of spell creation and how, in fact, many charms and spells learned in Transfiguration and Charms were pointless and could be improved upon, but were just basics that had to be set before they could move onto real important things.

-----

Soon the class was over, and Harry and Blaise pulled out their schedules. They both had "Advanced DA" and that confused Harry, as the only DA he knew of was 'Dumbledore's Army" from the last year. And if that was the case, he really had no immediate desire to do such things. He shrugged and took her hand, heading to lunch. It was uneventful, but as the meal died down and more and more people seemed to be asking him what he knew about Advanced DA, almost all of the 6th years from the club the year before, Harry got more and more agitated. As they sat, Harry slipped his small knife out, and nicked his finger. Blaise did the same, and she pulled out her blades, and they each placed a drop of blood on the blades. The girl sat there, looking at the blades for a while as they sat on the table, before she sighed and lifted them. The moment she touched them, they glowed and the blood seemed to sink into the blades.

Harry adjusted his gloves, and did not notice the blood he got on both gloves in the process. It wasn't much, but the gloves seemed to make a deep darkness and suck in a bit of light, before going back to the way they were. As they finished this process, Dumbledore stood and made his usual end-of-lunch announcements and speech, before he said something new. "For those of you in the Advanced DA class, please stay in the hall, but stand in the back. Thank you." Within 10 minutes it was just the people to be in the class. And Harry was staring in shock as Draco Malfoy, Marietta Edgecomb and Zacharias Smith all there. Harry did not know what the old man was thinking, nor did he know what the class would be about, but he had no idea why all the people were there.

Dumbledore was walking toward them and Hermione was looking very confused. She raised her hand to the man and when he acknowledge him, she asked, almost frantically, "Professor, what is this class, and who will be teaching it?"

He smiled at her gingerly. "This class is exactly what it was last year, a Defense club." He was silent for a moment, and Harry could feel him looking at him.

"Does that mean that Harry will be leading it?" Hermione asked, as if she knew the answer was an affirmative, as if she was showing her comfort in her knowledge.

"No, Ms. Granger, it doesn't. What did the DA stand for, if I might ask you to share?"

"The Defense Association!" Shouted Dean. His large axe was strapped to his back, and with his hair newly French-braided, something Parvati had done the night before, he looked intimidating to all who saw him with his tall and powerful form. Such that no one dared disagree with him. No one but Dumbledore.

"No, Mr. Thomas, the DA was for Dumbledore's Army. And that is what this will be. This is war, sadly, and I want you all to be prepared. You will all be my generals, my army in this school."

Harry wasn't fuming as much as in shock at the man's gall. "His" had been his words. Harry knew it was his Demonic nature speaking, but he wasn't anyone's property, outside of Blaise's. The class mostly moved behind Harry, and Dumbledore seemed to be having conflicting emotions. "Class, please do not group behind Mr. Potter. The class leaders for this year will the Ms. Granger and Mr. Thomas."

"Why! I didn't do any kind of leadership with the last group, and I don't see how that will change. Harry was our leader, and that was how we liked it, why are you going and changing things!" Dean spoke. Harry smiled at his friend. He too, had grown over the summer, and had changed as well, and it was showing.

"Mr. Thomas, you will not argue with me. Things have changed, making it so that it would be a less intelligent idea for you all to rely undoubtedly in Mr. Potter's leadership. Now, we will pair up and practice the basic stunning spells." Blaise made to take Harry's hand, but the boy was fuming. He walked to Dumbledore and pulled out his wand.

"Let's practice, shall we, _Professor?_" Harry put his narrowed eyes on the Headmaster. There was the echoing voice he came to know as Knight in the back of his head, but he pushed the thoughts into the back of his head.

"Very well, Mr. Potter." They both pulled out their wands, but before the first spell was fired, Dumbledore caught Harry's anger. "I understand how you feel, but since the recent…changes…I can not allow you control over a group such as this. Your nature in and of itself will cause you to drift toward the dark, and I can not have you taking others with you. I know I have asked a lot from you, but Ms. Zabini is steadily coming to the light, and she is a valued resource and I do not know…"

Before Dumbledore could talk, Harry was across the room and was holding the man by his neck to the wall, Harry's other hand was pressing the man's bony wrist against the wall as well, and his hair was shadowing his eyes. His voice had changed some as he spoke. "Do not think you can control me, old man. You know nothing of me, and if you interfere with my life, I will not hesitate to end yours. You do _not_ know me, and realize, this 'nature' of mine that you speak of, that is nothing. Know that I have very good and powerful friends, and I am able to kill you myself."

"Harry…"

"Harry is away right now, can I take a message?" Came the cold voice. "I am Knight, and the more you piss _'Harry…'_ off, the more I come out. So remember me, because I will be the one to kill you if you continue to meddle." And Dumbledore was dropped to the floor. "Knight" backed away a bit, and slowly the cold darkness that was coming from him in waves eased back. Few in the class had the ability to see this confrontation, but all the people closest to Harry did, and wanted to know what had gone on.

After a moment, he brushed his hair from his face, and it was clear that Harry was back. His scar, or the place where his scar had been, was glowing a bright red as if the area was agitated in some way. Dumbledore straightened himself up and brushed off his robe before he looked as Harry went into a dueling stance that others were using for the practice, and Dumbledore did the same. "Stunning spell, remember." He muttered to Harry. By then, the entire class was gathered around, watching.

"_Stupefy!"_ Harry shouted as he aimed his wand and fired. A black energy flared around his hand, wisps of black and sky blue shooting up his wand, before it seemed to buckle and send a kickback as the spell fired that lifted Harry from the ground and laid him on his back. His spell fired, but around the normally bright red stunning spell, were tendrils of black, and the red itself seemed taint to a purplish color. The spell broke right through Dumbledore's shield and launched the man into a back wall about 8 feet off the ground, and he literally bounced off of the stone and fell straight down to the ground.

And laying on the ground groggily, his body sending ripples of some kind of warping dark energy every so often, like a slow heartbeat, Harry stirred. In his hand, held still by the gloves he got in Advanced Dueling, was his wand.

Shattered, burnt, and with a steady sound that sounded like what he assumed would be a phoenix crying, coming out and filling the hall. Harry stayed conscious long enough to see that, before he seemed to blank out.

-----


	17. Chapter 16

**FFOmega**

Part I: Bitter-Sweet Dreams

Chapter 16

Kyoto sat atop the building in the dead of night, his legs dangling over the side of the skyscraper, his hair blowing in the constant wind. He was watching the world around him, watching the people move in the night without a care, and watching the way the world seemed to swallow them up without them knowing it.

Kyoto knew something was going on with Harry. He had felt a pulse of Demonic energy from him, and it had spiked to an insanely high level for a Halfling, higher than many full Demons. The boy was truly Awakening, and that marked a very bad thing.

Kyoto was familiar with Karma, or Fate. One with his past, was able to have such allowances, especially since the woman wanted to meet one of the few people she had little to no knowledge of or control over. She had taken to him, and cried for him, as it was just after another of his rebirths, and he was traumatized after "Shadowy Night". It had been a horrible event, and he had quite literally had a mental break and lost every evidence of himself and had forced amnesia on his own mind just to forget what he had done. It was the lord of all Defense Mechanisms.

"_Shadowy Night_" they called it. Few alive knew anything about the situation, it was one of those things that millions of sick, sick people still try and get away with and have been, since the beginning of time. He had killed tens of thousand people, on his own, and there were few to no accounts of it. Because anyone close enough to watch,

Died.

He made certain of that.

Within 3 hours, hundreds of people were dead, and by the time the sun rose after that night, the city was burning and all that was left of an entire city of people was ash and the smell of burnt bones. The very site of the place was eroded by the blood spilt, and the air still never got the smell of iron out.

He still had to fight back tears.

Pushing himself off of the building, he landed in a back alleyway. He missed Jamie, he wanted to see her, and it wasn't even as much as a romantic, sexual or emotional attraction. He needed help. He needed someone to tell him that he wasn't going to lose it completely, that he wasn't going to slip and kill everyone.

Walking down the street, stress on his mind, some guy walking down the street bumped shoulders with him, or more, bumped his shoulder into Kyoto's ribs. Turning his 6'5" form to the much shorter man, Kyoto leveled his eyes at him. The man had spoken angrily. "Watch where da fuck ya going, ya go'damned freak!" The man spoke in a broken accent."

Kyoto looked at the man, before he pulled out a cigarette and his lighter, and, lighting it, he took a drag before blowing the smoke in the man's face. The man sputtered before ripping the cigarette from Kyoto's hand. He threw it on the ground and stomped on it, thinking it made him look imposing. By the time the man had looked up again, Kyoto had another one lit and was smoking it again. "That wasn't very nice." He said in a low growl. He pulled the cigarette from his lips as the other man spoke.

"I said shut da fuck up! Don't makes me hurt ya!" The smaller man said. Kyoto let out a throaty laugh, before his eyes narrowed dangerously. "Don't look at meh like dat, ya bastard!" And then the man's shouts were screams, as Kyoto put his cigarette out in the man's eye.

"Do. Not. Fuck. With. Me." Kyoto spoke slowly, as if talking to a little child, before he pushed the whimpering man back and into the wall. Blood was coming from his eye, and his eyeball was gone. Kyoto lit another cigarette and began to smoke it, before cursing low, seeing he was running out of them. He only had 4 more. That wouldn't last half an hour.

"Goddamned humans…" Kyoto shook his head before leaping atop a small building and looking around the area, figuring out his location. After finding out, he headed east. He was going to see Jamie.

-----

Baretta opened the barrel and dropped all of the 6 bullets onto the ground. He slipped one bullet into the revolver and spun the barrel before stopping its spin. He pulled a chair out and sat on it, across the table sat another form.

"What are you doing, you crazy bastard!" He shouted.

"What do you know about a one…" He looked down at a post-it note in his hand, as if he was reading the name on the card. He knew the name, it was psychological, psyching him out. "Harry Potter?"

"Na…na…nothing. I don't know nothing!"

"Ah, the double negative…" Baretta leaned back in the chair and placed his feet on the table. "So, again, what do you know?" The man across from Baretta opened his mouth to deny, when Baretta leveled the gun at him and pulled the trigger.

"_Click."_

"Well…he's…he's crazy, I tell you, he isn't right in the damned head." Baretta casually raised the gun to his own head and pulled the trigger. A _Click-_ing sound once more, another empty chamber. "And so are you!"

"You know, you shouldn't take liberties of insulting people who have you life in their hands." He pointed the gun again.

"_Click."_

"Wh…what do you want from me! I can give you money, I can give you whatever you want…Power! I have power! I can give you so much power."

"Do not think you can offer me power, human. You are but fecal matter to me." And he put the gun to his own head, the side at the temple, and pulled the trigger.

"_Click."_

"One of us is going to get shot. Now, tell me what I want to know, and you could walk out of here, or limp at the very least."

"I don't know what you want from me!" _Click._ The man sighed loudly, then watched in shock as Baretta raised the gun and pulled the trigger. And the bullet flew out of the chamber and hit Baretta in the side of the head. He slumped off the side of the chair and hit the ground.

The room was quiet, before steadily there was the sound of someone standing. And staring, the man watched as Baretta stood slowly, wiping blood from his face to reveal no evidence of having just shot himself in the temple, before he sat back down. He opened the gun and placed one bullet in and spun the chamber again, before sitting back in the chair. "Now, what do you say we try this again?"

And the man known as Cornelius Oswald Fudge pissed in his pants, and fainted onto the ground.

-----

Footsteps.

"Karma."

"Hello, sweetie. I am so sorry for all of this, and that we only seem to meet when the world seems the most against you, I apologize so much. But I needed to see you. It is almost time, but there is one more trial. Things are seriously going to go downhill from here on out, and by the end of the year, nothing about the world will be sacred to you but a few things. And those things and people, you will seek to protect. The question, really, is how far are you willing to go to protect the people you love."

"Until the ends of the earth." Karma was quiet for a bit, before she nodded.

"We may have to see the truth in that statement. But for the moment, I think I have to let you go. Be protected, young love of mine, and do not, under any circumstances, allow those people in this world to break you up from what you know you must do."

And she was gone.

-----

He awoke in the hospital wing, and he attempted to roll out of the bed. Only to find he was magically tied down. He felt the magical ropes holding him, and it took him a moment to remember that he no longer had a wand to free him. Anger surged through him at the things that caused things to deteriorate like that, and he pieced together the reasons why.

Using his anger, he wiggled his hands loose and yanked at the ropes holding him down. He felt the draw on the Demonic Energy he knew was his own, and then he felt the ropes almost burn, only it wasn't like fire burning, as it didn't produce heat, it created cold. And after the biting cold, he was free. He stood and left the hospital wing.

As he walked through the hallways, he scowled after a student who stared at him. Upon reaching Gryffindor Tower, he entered and walked up to his room. Classes in the middle of the day were going on, so he wasn't found. He gathered up a change of clothes and other such things and went into the bathroom. After a long shower and a change of clothing, he placed his gloves back on, finding a few differences.

They didn't seem to be leather so much anymore, as some kind of pliable metal. The steel studs on the top were a warped black with twines of sky blue through them, and they were sharper-looking, however no bigger. They had veins of a darker black along them. He stretched his hands before he opened his trunk, feeling a pulling from it. He rifled through, and pulled everything out and found the metal case. He opened it and stared at the sword. He pulled the sword out, and could feel a pulse of energy. It was a banging, pulsing, pounding feel in him. And he felt something going through him, and he dropped the sword, locked the metal box, and slid the case under his bed. He placed everything back in the trunk before leaving. It was almost time for the classes to be out, and he wanted to be out of the dorm and somewhere where they wouldn't automatically look for him.

He left and headed down a hallway. As he was walking a corridor, he saw Snape spot him and run his way. He turned and began to jog away. As he was going, he saw McGonagall coming the other way, so he made his first turn. And he found himself in Myrtle's bathroom. He didn't have a wand to lock the door. So he kicked the side of the door, denting the side in so it would be harder to open, and as he looked around, he saw the sink, and realized where he was being lead to.

And walking over to the sink, he hissed, and the sink opened, and he slid down into the Chamber of Secrets. As he did, he heard the shouts of the teachers behind him, shouting out his name, and threats that he had better return.

-----

The Chamber was surprisingly warmer than he thought it would be, actually it was fairly warm. But the moment he had entered the middle of the room, there was a raging heat as all of the candelabras flared up and a ring of fire surrounded the center of the main chamber. And the mouth of the statue of Salazar Slytherin opened, and there was the sound of footsteps, heavy footsteps. And from the whole emerged a large warrior.

At the very least, it was 7 feet tall, with dark-red body armor that was slightly metallic in nature, making it reflect the flames rising and falling around them. In one hand was a huge single-bladed axe, and in the other, a long black, obsidian staff, with a sparkling red jewel on the top. And from the back of the large warrior, was a huge pair of upward-pointing wings. The creature had long gray hair and a long gray beard as well, but the skin of the creature was a dirt-color, and its eyes were a bright hazel color and oddly large.

"What the hell…" Harry muttered, before the ring of fire flared up, and the creature spoke in a deep, rumbling voice, as if in response.

"Who goes there!" He seemed to demand more than ask.

"What are you?" Harry asked. The creature seemed to observe him.

"I am a test. Fight me and win, and I shall reveal my nature and the Secrets this Chamber doth hold. You must be worthy of such, as you have spilt blood within this sacred Chamber, and drawn it as well. And…do I sense a Demonic Aura about you?" Harry nodded, having no want to anger the large figure before him. "You may call me Kasus. With different spelling, it would be Latin for 'Fall' which, I mind not at all. And as I said, this is a test, and you may not leave until you beat me, or you are dead. There are facilities for which you may stay and sleep, eat, doctor upon or even entertain yourself, but you may not leave."

Harry stared at Kasus for a long moment, before he nodded. The ring of fire flared as he crouched down. After a moment he leapt into the air and spun, kicking outwards. However, he was batted from the air by the side of the axe's blade, falling and staring at the large image Kasus projected.

Bringing his legs close to his chest, he kicked out, the momentum sending his body upwards. He tried for a leg sweep, but Kasus jumped up over his leg. Harry punched upwards, and Kasus seemed to reel for a moment, and Harry followed up with a kick that did little. And as he was about to attack once more, he caught a backhand that sent him spiraling into a wall.

Blinking back into consciousness, he looked around. Kasus was crouching low inside the ring of what was then ashes, using a stone across the blade of the axe he used. "How long was I out for?"

"Ah, it's relative, really. Some might say for ages, others, less than the flap of the wings of a hummingbird. Time, however, would say about 20 minutes, give or take. Put up a fair fight considering." Kasus chuckled to himself, still sharpening the axe. His wings stretched every so often, as if to a continual beat or rhythm.

"Where can I go to like, clean up and stuff?" Harry asked.

"Well…mostly just over to the right. A drop of your blood will open it, and inside even deeper, a drop of mine to open the door within. But be wary, if and when you are able, you may not love the contents within."

Harry stood and staggered over into the room. Staring into the old mirror before him, he wiped away the grime on it, and looked at his reflection. His eyes were weary looking, and there were droplets of blood on his cheek from his forehead, and his hair was dingy, matted together in several places, and so dirty is looked brown instead of black. His clothing was in horrible condition, but two things on him were in pristine condition, still as pure black as ever. The gloves, and the boots.

He looked into the sink bowl, running water into the porcelain sink, splashing water on his face. This was all, in some way or another Dumbledore's fault. But paramount to even that, it was his own. Until he beat the damned creature, he wouldn't be able to see Blaise again. He wouldn't be able to hold her. Wouldn't be able to feel like anyone really gave a little bit of a damn about him. Not the person they all thought he was, but who he really was.

Balling his fist, he slammed it down onto the sink. Shocks of black energy singed and burned the sink where he hit and in a webbing pattern around it. He looked from the sink to his hand, the hand that had destroyed his wand, he knew it was gone, he could feel the lack of its presence. The hand that had done so much damage. The hand that belonged to a person, no, a creature. The creature he was.

Looking up into the mirror, he looked at his reflection one last time before pulling back with his right hand and punching not just through the mirror, but cracking the rock behind the mirror as well. However, he saw none of this, nor did he see the swirling dark energy around his hands, as he spun from the glass fragments falling from the wall, stalking from the room. He kicked the side of the bed, making the large, heavy wooden four-posted slide and screech across the stone floor, and crash into the wall, knocking over a bedside table on the way. And where the bed was, Harry dropped down and began to do pushups. And when his arms couldn't take it anymore, he kept going, harder and faster. When he began to sweat, he pushed harder, and when the sweat blurred his vision, he closed his eyes, and went off of instinct. Time was no matter at all, all that mattered was pushing it until either he felt stronger immediately, or he died. He ended up falling to the floor, exhausted, while trying to do push-ups with his legs up on the wall, while he pushed his body up and down at a near vertical base.

The moment he tried to stand up, he changed his mind and began sit-ups. He continued more and more until he found that he could no longer force his body to bend in the middle no matter how much free will he expended on it. And flopping down onto his back, he attempted to try harder, try again, but he couldn't, and fell into an exhausted slumber.

-----

Kyoto's footsteps were silent, normally, but he wasn't in a mood to regulate any of his movements, to be fluid. He was in a destructive mood, and it was actually hard for him to be as clumsy as he was being, but he intended to work at it. He had knocked down several things, like newsstands and small old ladies, but he was in no mood to care. His normally silent footsteps echoed loudly in the night, his feet hitting the concrete like a gunshot through the night.

He heard the person approaching him from what seemed like miles off, and he still kept on. He was in a very pissy mood, and he could feel the little shit's Demonic aura from several blocks away, and it was stupid of the Demon to come after him.

Demons had classes, and Kyoto was happy to say that, of the Locked, he was top-tier, for the most part, only one person sat beside him, and she was gone now, for he had killed her...

The next few levels could get lucky and kill someone much stronger than them, it was all relative. But then there were the bottom-feeders, the ones that would allow their Lock-Guard to get tighter until it severed a limb before they fought someone of high power. If they couldn't cheat to win, they wouldn't fight. He knew who this was from 2 blocks before they met up, and it was a very bad time.

Pressing his Demonic energy out, hoping to scare the little runt off, Kyoto kept heading to Jamie's house. He wasn't in the mood to leap or anything, he was too tired, much too tired. Tired of everything. The figure hung back, and only arrived the moment Kyoto walked upon Jamie's house's lot. And he started some stupid speech, but Kyoto cut him off with a hand motion. "Leave, you little fucking shit. Now, before I kill you."

"_The little shit had the presence of mind to laugh. No, not the presence of mind, the lapse of judgment…"_

"I have come for my Key, you morbid-looking shit." He was dressed like a prep. He had bleached tips to his gelled hair, and he was wearing a polo shirt and some khaki shorts. He had a sweater wrapped over his shoulders, and he wore Doc Marten's. Overall, he was an insult to Demons everywhere, and upon seeing him, Kyoto decided that the continued existence of the "man" before him would be thusly taken as a personal insult to him.

"You look like a fucking idiot, or a goddamned Country Club reject." He turned from the prep and started to walk. He heard the footsteps behind him, and spoke forward, but just loud enough for the person behind him to hear. "Stop now, imp, before bad things come to you. I do not like your kind, I can not stand those such as you, and I am in a bad mood."

There was silence, and Kyoto had almost made it to Jamie's door before he heard words. "And should I cry over the poor baby's bad mood? Who gives a shit, fight me now, I demand it!"

Kyoto turned to him and was about to speak when the light in the front room came on and the door opened, and there stood Jamie, holding a dagger to her side, looking wary. She smiled brightly, seeing Kyoto, but stopped as she heard a voice. "Who's the bitch? Some late-night whore? I could use some lovin' after I kill you. How much, baby?"

Kyoto growled low. And his voice rattled and almost seemed to go through static, coming in an out of Jamie's human auditory range. And as it went longer, it got more feral. Suddenly he was gone, and the prep was on the ground. And raising his leg, he stomped on the other man's shin, shattering it, actually sending bone fragments shooting through his skin and out across the ground as if shot from his leg by a gun. He did the same to the other leg, before moving up and stomping on the prep's kneecaps. He did the thighs, before moving over to the hands, and then the forearms and up to the upper arms. He reached down, and his once-nailed but now-clawed hands reached and ripped through the man's polo shirt, and he grabbed either side of his ribcage, and he pulled, opening the ribcage up until the ribs simply cracked and broke away from the bases, some fragments coming out from his body, others left to drift inside. Stomping on the shoulders, the man before him cried as much as he could, with his lungs flooding with blood.

And in a voice that could be none other than Shadow, but was sounding more and more like Kyoto, words came from everywhere and nowhere at once. "Did you know that the human body holds quarts of blood? And that it is possible for a human to drown in just cups? Good thing you aren't human, eh? Did you also know that, as a Demon, the worthless one you are, that you really won't die until I kill you, or someone more merciful than I?

"Your blood will continue to replenish as you lose it, your nerve endings dying and repairing. You will feel this constant pain before it goes away just long enough for a reprieve to make the pain worse when it returns, it could be a horrible existence. Especially blind…unable to see anything to give hope, unable to visually plead with someone for help, considering you're incapable of speech when you're drowning in your own blood." And suddenly there was a bottle of alcohol in the white-haired man's hand. He poured it on the man's pelvis, before lighting a cigarette and taking a drag then dropping it. And the downed man's pelvis area immediately went up in flames. "Oh darn, did I do that? Let me put that out for you." And raising his foot obscenely high, he stomped on the man's pelvis. Jamie flinched just watching as the heavy boot broke through all resistance and literally hit the earth below the man's body and created a small indentation in the ground.

Pouring the rest of the bottle on the man before the lighter lit a stray bit of the alcoholic beverage, the long-haired form watched as the man laying prone beneath him lit ablaze. He watched for a while, even kneeling and placing his hands there, as if getting warm, before he stood. Pulling his leg back, he kicked the man across the ground, the dirt padding out most of the flames. With another kick, he made the man on the ground look up at him. He chuckled lowly to himself, his white hair falling and in the other man's failing sight, he looked like a pure white angel, dressed in all black.

The Angel of Death.

"Good thing that I am in a merciful mother-fucking mood, right, bitch? Because I could leave you here. But first, I did say something about blind…" Kyoto leaned down and with his fingers he poked out the man's eyes. There wasn't even enough of the man's throat for him to scream effectively. "Well, that's about all the fun for today, boys and girls, tune in next week, same Bat time, same Bat channel." He muttered, before raising his leg and stomping on the man's head, exploding the heated contents across the lawn, the skull fragments mixing with the fat that composed the brain, and creating a weird mixture, the flames having licked both and created a blackish tint there as well.

Kyoto turned to Jamie. "So, how about we go out for coffee? I have nothing left to do for the next few hours, and I was just in the neighborhood. What do ya say?" Jamie looked at the figure before her before the knife clattered down the stone steps in front of the house before her body slumped, losing power of movement in almost the same order as the now dead man on her lawn had lost skeletal structure, before she sank onto her wooden entryway floor, gripped in the comforting hand of unconsciousness.

-----

Blaise was livid. She was pacing her room, armed with everything she could get her hands on, including every wand left somewhere where the owner had misplaced it. She would use them, even if they didn't work correctly, she could throw the damned things. She had even stolen all of the dinner knives from her table, and made a second trip to the kitchens.

Snape had decided to pull his Bastard Card, as she called it, on her. He was being a complete and total bastard, saying she knew where Harry was, and knew how to get to him, he was "sure of it" and he had placed her under "House Arrest" so she couldn't go and "rendezvous" for a "lover's tryst" as he said. And she wasn't staying in her room while Harry was in the school, being damn-well hunted by half the staff and being called a "Dark Lord in Training" already, putting part of the school against him immediately. He needed her and she needed him. She didn't feel safe, and half the reason she was armed and pacing as she was, was because several of her housemates had taken it upon them to attack her on her way back to her room, saying different things about her. Her reputation was as tarnished as the trophy room was, now that no one was getting into trouble with their Head of House for assaulting or harassing her. But she didn't care at all.

All she cared about was Harry. She would feel a cold in her left hand every so often, and could almost make out a faint dark gray glow around her hand, and she knew it was coming from him. And whenever she would do something with that hand while it glowed as such, weird things would happen. Once she had been in the middle of a duel against Pansy, who had challenger her, saying she wanted Blaise out of the girl's room if she won, and Pansy had cast a strong, Dark, pain curse at her, and the glow had been there, and Blaise had raised her hand to take the attack instead of her face, and the magic had hit the smoke-like gray aura and had seemed to be sucked in and the hand flared for a moment before the smoke dissipated.

She had wondered about this, until she got a hold of the Demon book from Harry's things with Ron's help. No one in Gryffindor really was against Harry, but almost all against Dumbledore, as they had heard everything that had gone on, and Ron was being exceedingly helpful, slipping the book to Daphne who slipped it to Blaise. And the book revealed what she needed to know, in words that meant nothing unless read correctly. The gist of it was, Demonic energy fed off of Chaos, Destruction and Death. And Wizarding magic was nothing more than destruction. Magic was destruction, plain and simple, nothing more and nothing less. Any spell done destroyed something to get an end result, from the "Killing Curse" destroying the soul, to the Levitation curse destroying, to a degree, the hold gravity possessed on a given item. It was all destruction. And Demonic energy fed off of it.

She sighed. If Harry was getting control of his Demonic side, he would at least be slightly safe from a good deal of magic in the school, despite his lack of magical focus, and last she heard, he was in the Chamber of Secrets. And he was the only one in the school who could go down there. And no matter how worried she was, it was better that way.

Blaise sighed and left the room to Defense Against the Dark Arts class. She took her seat, and the class was about to begin, when Zacharias Smith raised his hand. "I'd like to challenge Harry Potter for his seat in the class." There were murmurs arising around the class, as the seat was empty. "And I figure, since he isn't here, he forfeits."

"That was low, Smith, low as hell!" Dean exploded. "Why I oughta…" He reached over his shoulder for his huge war-axe when Seamus put a calming hand on his shoulder, shaking his head.

"Well, since Mr. Potter isn't here, technically…" Ms. Madison began, but Mr. Long put his hand on his shoulder and shook his head, directing her with his eyes.

During the entire conflict, with the class and the teachers all murmuring, speaking or getting involved, Blaise was silent. Silently stewing, the rage within her causing her chair to shake. She stood, angrily. "No, Smith will fight me. And when I beat him and he is groveling at my feet, he will know not to be such a bloody prick in the future!" Blaise declared. She headed toward the front of the room, her eyes narrowed, her hair tied back, and fingering the triggers for all of the holsters attached to her body.

"Ms. Zabini, you can't fight Mr. Potter's battles, it states only family members, betrothed or spouses, legal Seconds, Executors of his estate or otherwise-stated people." Blaise walked to Ms. Madison, who had spoke, and showed her the markings on her left hand. The woman stared, knowing what it was, or was supposed to be.

"He's a…he's…"

"He's a half-Demon, yes, and I guess by legal standards, I am betrothed to him, or whatever that stuffy fucking word is. Now, lets get this shit over with so I can get out of here and find him…please...I _need_ to find him..." Blaise was almost pleading, and Ms. Madison looked to the smaller girl, smiling sadly as she saw the tears shimmering in the girl's eyes, and she nodded.

"Single duel. Smith has no weapons but his wand." And the duel began. And lasted no longer than 15 seconds. Blaise tackled Zacharias and punched him in the face a few times before pulling out a knife and holding it to his neck.

"You don't deserve his seat. You couldn't fill Harry's Quidditch jockstrap with your whole goddamned body, remember that, and you might stay alive to graduate. Cross me again, Smith, and I will kill you."

By rules of the duel, Zacharias won, because Blaise pulled a weapon on a weaponless opponent. As she went back, she was fuming. And suddenly something happened that, theoretically, wasn't supposed to happen after she turned 11. What would seem like accidental magic. The chair next to her flew at Smith, slamming into his shakily-standing form. He fell backward, the chair leaving a bruise. He set it down by the angry girl, and made to sit, when suddenly the chair disappeared. He fell to the ground, to laughter in the class, along with angry muttering, stared and glares. He conjured another, much better looking, and as he sat down, Blaise stabbed a knife just millimeters from his crotch, into the chair. He raised an eyebrow, before swallowing audibly and standing.

"I think I'll stand, Potter can have his bloody seat, it's not good enough for me, and the company in the area is lousy. A bunch of bloody blood traitors, punks, bitches and whores aren't my normal group of friends, and I would prefer to stay uninfected."

He was lucky to make it out of the class alive. It was close, and was it not for the fact that he had moved from the area he spoke of as he said this, he would have been little more than a small pile of goo. As it was, he was out, for a while, guaranteed. It would take at least a week to re-grow his genitals, as Blaise hadn't missed that time.

And as she left the room, she pulled a blade or her wand on anyone who came too close to her, even her friends. And she went up to the Room of Requirement. She needed to be alone. And as she entered, the door disappeared from the outside, and she was inside, crying her eyes out into a pillow, everything in the room meant to remind her of Harry, down to the walls. She needed him, she wanted him back. She cried all through the night, missing all of her classes, which had been cancelled, oddly, for some reason.

-----

Harry's second match with Kasus wasn't long. However, something happened very odd. When he had disarmed the staff, he had caught it. He attempted to blast a spell, but all it did was make him tired, but it did send a jagged blast of pale blue energy. Kasus covered his body with his wings, and the energy splashed across it and seemed to do little to nothing. And Harry was knocked out by a tail he never knew Kasus had. When he awoke, the staff was next to him. He looked to Kasus, who looked like he didn't even notice the object's disappearance, so Harry lifted it before heading away. However, he stopped, and thought for a moment.

He needed a House Elf. Suddenly Kasus looked up to him, "Do you need something?" He asked.

"Well, I didn't know you would be here, otherwise I would have brought my weapon. I have a sword that I think could be of some kind of use to me here."

"Well, too bad." And Kasus went back to his axe. Harry lifted the staff and walked away, placing it to the side. He had no use for it if all it did was tire him out. Lifting the mattress onto the wall, he began to punch the mattress, taking out his anger and frustration on it continuously. He beat it until the mattress no longer existed, worn away, the feathers on the inside littering the floor. He pushed it out of the way and began to hit the stone wall. His hands grew numb, and spirals of blood surrounded his forearms, but he kept going. For hours upon hours, he hit the wall, until the wall was wearing. When that happened, he moved to another space of wall.

When he no longer felt like the punching was having anymore effect, he walked over to the four-poster frame, now nothing more than the frame. He grabbed the canopy and used that as a means by which to do pull-ups. And he continued these until his shoulders were sore and his biceps burned. And for another night in a row, he passed out on the floor of the room.

-----

Jamie awoke to laying on the couch in her living room. She sat up to see a form in the corner of the room, huddled up. She stood and walked toward the figure, and saw the spirals of pure-white hair coming out of the black form, and realized who and what it was. It was Kyoto, and he was shaking.

"Kyoto…" He didn't move. She placed her hand on his shoulder, and he jerked harshly from her touch. She tried again, and he growled and moved away from him. He shot her a look over his shoulder, and Jamie literally fell back onto her behind, staring at him in complete and utter shock. Plastered on his face was a look she could only liken to when Blaise was a small child and had gone through her first major traumatic attack.

A man in the ministry had been going on a particularly long crusade about how the Zabini family was a long-lived dark family, and broke in to prove it. It turned out that he had run into the girl as she was heading back from the bathroom in the middle of the night, and she had slashed the only thing on him she could reach after he had attacked her. His Achilles tendon was ripped, and the way he fell insured he would never walk again, despite magic. And Jamie had found the girl huddled near her door, shaking despite it not being in tears, and refusing to be touched.

Kyoto was traumatized. Years and years of living, and the dam had finally broken. And Jamie was not sure she would be able to help him. She was familiar with the human mind, but the oldest patient she had ever treated was only about in their 80s, and that was an easily diagnosed and dealt with case of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. That case of PTSD was only 3 days old.

Kyoto's was looking at a few millennia. And he was shaking on the floor of her sitting room, crying on her floor while he squeezed his hands shut so tightly that his own claws were peaking out of the top of his hand, having punctured right through. Tears fell down Jamie's face as she watched Kyoto shaking. He was turned from her, but he spoke as if he could see her.

"Don't cry for me Angel, I am but a Demon who finally realized that that is all I will ever be. There is no happy ending where I become an Angel again. There is no redemption for someone like me, there is no 'making up' for the things I have done. Please, don't think to shed tears for my past sins, all they will do is drown you."

-----

Harry sighed. It had been another 2 days of fruitless attempts to win. He had attempted to use the staff at one point, and all it did was, once again tire him, but less than the previous time. He had noticed upon waking up from a front-kick by the large form of Kasus to find a spiraling kind of warp of the staff going up and down along the cylinder, and the worst warping was where his hand had held the weapon. He realized as he looked at it, what was causing that.

He could sometimes feel the energy, the cold in the room, and it hadn't taken him long to realize it was his Demonic energy. Kyoto was capable of harnessing the energy in a lot of different ways, but said that it generally only worked to break down the barricade wall between his mind and Shadow. However, the white-haired man had told him that Demonic energy is invaluable in a world run by wizards but said not as to why. And during what would be the 4th match, Harry realized why.

Kasus had retrieved his staff in exchange for losing his axe, and had blasted Harry with some kind of magic. Harry had had the presence of mind to do something he had been working on, which was surrounding his hands with his Demonic energy. And the spell had hit his hands, and while the force pushed him back, the spell disappeared. And the energy around his hands flared up larger than before. And upon awakening from catching the staff atop his head as he stood, staring at his glowing hands, Harry realized why this had happened. Demonic energy ate magic. And the more it ate, the bigger it got.

It was like a fire, and the school he was in might as well have been a square mile of gasoline.

-----

In the hospital wing, the man known as Albus Dumbledore was sitting up in a bed, popping lemon drops as if they were some kind of narcotic, an almost consistent motion from the bowl to his mouth and back again. He was glad for the calming drought they were dipped in, as he would be needing it. He was confined to his own ward in the white wing of the school, away from the prying eyes of the students.

It would not serve well for them to know that their headmaster, whom they had all the trust and faith in for their protection, the leader of the leading magical school in the area, was, for what Pomfrey figured to be the next few weeks,

Not more than a muggle.

-----


	18. Chapter 17

**FFOmega**

Part I: Bitter-Sweet Dreams

Chapter 17

The axe has always been an interesting weapon. The force of a hammer, with the ability to cut like a sword. The abilities of two weapons in one, and if used correctly, a devastating weapon to wield. Most people take axe-wielding incredibly serious, as it can be a dangerous weapon to use for the user if they know not of the proper ways to handle and do battle with one.

Harry Potter, on the other hand, was having a hell of a time watching the axe collect dust in the corner of his room. He had made good progress since he had taken the axe from Kasus, even landing a solid punching combination into the Guardian's chest armor, denting it, before even knocking the creature down with a harsh crescent-kick. He was almost immediately leveled into unconsciousness by a right cross followed by an uppercut that sent him up a few feet into the air afterwards, but he was progressing.

He had been down there for what was feeling about a week, and there were some days he opted not to challenge Kasus, but to instead train himself. His hold over his Demonic energy was increasing to the point that he found he had an easier time sending a concentrated blast of energy out when not using a focus, or more, not using a focus made for magic. His gloves where his focus. And he found something very interesting as he progressed in training himself. The more he used or was around something, the more his natural energy warped it, changing it. He was seeing it going on in the room he was sleeping in, and even in the axe, and he hadn't even used it.

The morning of his last fight with Kasus, he had awoken, giving off so much Demonic energy that his very footsteps warped the floor. Squaring off against Kasus, the world had slowed. Harry had chosen to take the axe with him, and had leapt up, leveling a kick toward Kasus. He caught the large Guardian in the chest, before spinning while still in the air and hitting Kasus in the side of the head. As Kasus fell, the large Guardian placed the staff on the ground to lean on it. Harry kicked it into the air, and used one light kick to push him up into the air, and snatched the staff. While still in the air, he pointed it at Kasus. As he was there, he felt his Demonic energy flare a bit, and he blasted a burst of it at Kasus.

The large Guardian covered himself with his wings, and the dark energy hit the wings, and seemed to start to warp and alter them. While in the air, Harry tossed the staff as he started to fall, and pulled out the axe, which was strapped on his back. He flipped and slammed the axe into the intersection of the wings, and they shattered like glass. And in the dark fragment rain, Harry came down and leveled an even slash across Kasus' chest armor. And as the fragments began to descend, he spun around and laid a harsh kick into the midsection of the large Guardian. And time seemed to speed back up, launching the large form that was Kasus back and into the far wall.

And before he could even celebrate his win, Harry fell to his knees in the middle of the circle of slowly dropping flames. He dropped into a curled up position, shaking on the ground. Flame-like wisps of black energy, with splashes of sky-blue licks came up from the ground around him, making what almost seemed like a gyroscope around him. And it steadily grew larger, as well as more solid. And finally, it closed around him, a swirling ball of black energy with sky-blue mixed throughout, never mixing with the dark energy. And the ball was large and spinning before suddenly shrinking to cover Harry like some kind of skin-tight suit, covering every inch of him in pure black. And he stayed huddled up in that, what seemed almost like a tight cocoon, losing all sense of time.

It would be a week before he woke up.

-----

Baretta paced. He was pissed off, and it was never a good idea to piss off someone who had the accuracy of a sniper rifle with a handgun. But yet, the person had pissed him off.

All he had wanted was a bag of Cheetos, and it had turned into this. Right when he was in front of the cashier, getting his change, some idiot had burst in with a gun, attempting to hold the store up.

"Everyone put your hands up, this is a fucking robbery!"

Baretta looked to the man. He was easily defined as short, and the pantyhose he wore on his face did absolutely nothing to hide his appearance. All of this was happening as Baretta was supposed to be getting his change. And he had no intention of putting his hands up.

"Hey you, buddy, in the long coat! Who the fuck do you think you are, some kind of superhero in that thing? Who the fuck wears those anymore, it's the middle of summer! Put your hands up, I'm robbing this place!" Baretta eyed the man incredulously.

"With a fucking .22? You couldn't hold up a lemonade stand with that piece of shit, and I have no intention of jumping through hoops for someone who doesn't even have the respect enough for me to try and threaten me with something that has the ability to cause damage equal to a hole puncher." There was a collective gasp from everyone in the store. The owner was trying to whisper for the tall man to not cause any trouble, but Baretta ignored him and reached into his coat. "Now with this, you might be able to hold up a store of convenience, such as this." And Baretta held in his hand a Desert Eagle, which he turned around in his hand a few times, as if looking at it, before leveling it at the robber.

The people in the store watched in awe as the smaller man with the woman's pantyhose on his head panicked and dropped his gun. And Baretta did something very weird. "If you don't do anything stupid, and let me out of here with my damned snack chips, I'll give you this and you can go about your robbery, agreed?"

The man could do nothing but nod. Baretta picked up his chips and started toward the door. He handed the gun to the man, before he started out of the door. However, before he could make it, he heard the gun click and heard the man tell him to stop. Turning, Baretta saw the man leveling what had been his own gun at him.

And thus, the Fallen became pissed off. It had been a fair enough deal, and the stupid human had taken it, only to turn on the deal that he was given. And if there were one group of humans he hated, it was the ones that didn't know when to just take what they can get and move on.

Always have to keep pushing for that extra inch.

The man had put Baretta in the back of the store, and went about his robbery. The tall, duster-clad man paced, to keep himself from growing far too angry for his own good. Truthfully, he cared little for the other people in the store when he pulled out his guns. However, he heard the police sirens coming, and all he needed was for the police to plaster his face everywhere, saying it had been him trying to hold up the local 7-11. So, placing them back, Baretta located a display that housed miniature souvenir baseball bats from the local baseball team in the area. He lifted one, casually wondering what the fuck was wrong with Americans, naming their sports team something so stupid as the "A's" and he casually wondered where the B's, C's and so forth resided.

Forgetting that train of thought, he silently stalked up to the man robbing the store and pulled his arm far back, holding in his hand the small bat, which was about the size of a police billy-club, before he brought his arm forward and cracked the would-be robber in the back of the head. The man fell forward, hitting his head on the counter before sinking to the ground, the back of his head and the pantyhose atop it turning a dark color as blood seeped into the material. Baretta looked down at him and kicked him, before dropping the small bat onto the man's prone body and then walking away, eating away at his bag of chips.

-----

Harry awoke some time later to see Kasus standing in front of him. The large guardian wasn't wearing the armor he wore the whole time, but instead was clad in old-styled cloth pants and nothing else. There was a large gash across his chest that was healed but had a black tint against the man's reddish-brown skin. He sat on the floor with his legs crossed, using a rock and sharpening the axe that lay in front of him. Kasus had incredibly long hair, and from the sides of his head stood long pointed ears. Kasus jerked the moment Harry awoke, and looked to him, smiling gently.

"How long have I been out?" Harry asked, standing and stretching. It seemed like his back made a cracking and popping sound for each of his individual vertebrate. He cracked his knuckles, before cracking each finger without touching them to any other fingers, something he had seen Kyoto do. He grinned despite it at being able to do such a frightening action. He did a few test hops to ease the creaks out of his legs, before he looked to see Kasus standing as well.

"Ah, about a week." Harry was going to act shocked, but he wasn't, not at all, he seemed to have developed a good sense of time, and he knew what time it was for some odd reason.

"So, what happens now, Kasus?"

"Well, basically you can come and go as you please in and out of the Chamber, and others can come as long as you vouch for them. The real chambers will be open to your use, which I took liberties to open for you as you were asleep. This Chamber, for the most part, is now Harry Potter's Chamber of Secrets, or some other such cheesy name, you have become the rightful heir to it by beating me. Also, I will be here as a guard, as well as a tutor if you like."

Harry was silent for a moment before thinking about his sword. He had this feeling that he needed to learn to use it and not fear it. He wanted it, but he had no want to go up to the main school to get it. Suddenly there was a pop and the metal case fell down in front of Harry. Harry stared at Kasus, before the pieces fell into place.

"House elf?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. That was what I was in a previous life, before such measures were taken to unbind my abilities from strictly servitude." Harry looked intrigued before he shrugged.

"Do you think you would be able to teach me how to use this damned sword?" He asked, undoing the fasteners on the metal box and taking the weapon out. As he did, he could feel its energy giving off. It was powerful energy, he could feel it even more at the time. As soon as he lifted it, he felt and literally saw his energy go from his hand, the black with sky-blue in it swirling around the sword in a helix-like form with the olive-green energy the sword was giving off. The black blade pulsed, and the runes at the bottom in gold glowed in a nonexistent light.

Kasus watched in curiosity before nodding resolutely. "I will do all I can to teach you. But I have a very interesting feeling that this may come more naturally to you than anything else, using a sword in this Chamber, and it might be the best place to have taught you." Kasus smiled, before standing and picking up his staff. He pointed it at the sword and seemed to cast a spell. A cushion spell as it was, was cut through immediately, destroyed as soon as it was cast. Kasus shrugged before picking up the axe and holding it in his hand, and it seemed to melt into a long, curved blade. He was silent, with his eyes closed for a moment, before he squared off with Harry. "Defend yourself."

-----

Harry had progressed quickly, and was finding it very interesting how his body was making slow, but noticeable changes. His fingernails were growing harder and more to a point, and his hair was a bit longer than normal. His hair hung to around his collarbone, and was a sleek black color. His eyes shone brighter than he thought they ever had, and he noticed that when he allowed his Demonic energy to flare up in the middle of the night as he laid about to go to sleep in his new bedchambers, they seemed to emit a bit of a glow.

His use of his Demonic abilities was not progressing as well as his self defense was. Kasus had taken to teaching him a fighting technique the House Elf turned Guardian had created in the centuries he had been in the Chamber. And that training had birthed the first return of Knight. The voice of what Harry called his darker side was often there, but usually only echoed Harry's own thoughts, and stayed dormant for the most part. But after Harry kept getting blasted into a wall as he failed to learn a move, Knight took over. And it was then that Harry realized exactly how powerful Knight was. Kasus had shown how powerful he truly was by staying alive and fairly unharmed during the assault, but not without cost, as every bit of the Guardian's armor was rotted and destroyed by the end of the conflict.

Whatever the sword, Phearamos, that Kyoto had given Harry was, it was powerful, quick, and seemed to only have the effect of rotting and decaying what it hit in Harry's hands. Kasus was able to hold it and attack, but it did little outside of cutting, while in Harry's hands, he had pretty much turned a stone wall into dust with one strike, as the rocks decayed and turned into fragments.

Harry awoke on what would be his last day there wondering about his classes. He had worked on his Demonic energy projection, but very little if any conventional magic. He was capable of making a Demonic shield that stood up to most magic, strengthening the shield in the process, but it wasn't flawless. Any spell that had more power than a stunning spell still broke through.

However, with what Fate had told him the night before, warning that the time of The Call was coming soon, he realized that the world was bigger than Hogwarts. That he couldn't fight a war with levitation charms and the ability to turn a porcupine into a pincushion. And he knew that any abstract ability he could acquire would be well received as something that only he could do, and therefore only he could defend against.

Awakening, Harry stood and showered before he dressed himself. Kasus had gotten him his trunk, and he had dressed himself in some black, baggy cargo pants he hadn't had the opportunity to wear over the summer due to the heat. He pulled on a simple black t-shirt, and then his coat that he received from the Patils on his birthday. Kasus took his sword, and fitted it into a sheath made of dragon-hide that the once-house elf had then wrapped in strips of black cloth that he simply said would keep the sword safe from him as much as him from the sword. It was left with a strap tied on that he slipped over his shoulder. Harry did just that, before he turned to Kasus. The large Guardian smiled at him.

"You have grown well, Harry, amazingly, and I am happy to have been here for that."

"Will I see you again?" Harry asked.

"The Chamber is now yours, and I, therefore, am your Guardian. If you come here, I will be here, and I will always do all in my power to help you." Harry smiled as he heard this and nodded, before shaking hands with the Guardian. "The plus about once being a House Elf is that I can always know when you need me. And I will do all in my power to get there and help you if you are in dire need of my help.

"Now go on Harry, I think there is a girl in desperate need of you, right now." Harry nodded before heading out of the Chamber through the exit he had found some time before, which, oddly, led him directly into the main corridor of the school.

Breathing deeply, Harry pulled his hood up and walked to the door of the Great Hall, before he pushed the doors open.

-----

The morning had begun interestingly. Between Ginny Weasley screaming to the entire Great Hall that she knew Harry was still in the school and that she had had a tryst in the broom closet with him the night before, to Blaise getting up from her chair and tackling the redhead onto the ground and laying a solid slam of her fist into her face, it was looking to be an interesting day. Bella had literally had to pick a flailing, cursing and screaming Blaise up, with some help from Daphne, and cart her away.

Cleo had kicked Ginny in the side a few times before Hermione had had to run over and carry the small 1st year away, as Cleo had moved to kicking Ginny in the head.

And just to further make the morning more awkward, was the entrance of a very unexpected person. Harry Potter. But this was not the Harry Potter who had disappeared. This was a completely different person.

Walking into the room was a tall form, his head covered by the hood of his long, sweeping wyvern-hide coat. Strapped to his back was a large weapon of some kind, what seemed to be a sword, but it was impossible to tell exactly as it was wrapped up on his back. He was dressed completely in black, and his head was down, his hair coming out from the cover of the hood. He walked with purpose into the hall, and went to his normal seat at the Gryffindor table. The seat was occupied by someone, who looked to the wraith-like form behind him before jumping up and fleeing down the table.

The moment he sat down and removed his hood, the entire table stared at him. He didn't look too different than he had when he left, but there was something about him. He wasn't wearing school robes, and McGonagall walked toward him. They had given up searching for him, and they had no reason to reprimand him over the incident with the Headmaster, but his disappearance was warrant for question. However, as she was about to talk to him, she felt a cold sweep over her. He had sat down and grabbed the most rare breakfast steak and had eaten it quickly but very cleanly.

The moment she had been about to talk to him, he had stood and pulled his hood back up. He seemed to be thinking for a moment before heading off in the direction they had pulled Blaise and Cleo off in, and there was no way that he could possibly have known which direction that was.

-----

Blaise was fuming angrily, when the door to the room that she and Cleo were being held in opened, and in walked a form she knew. He looked different, that was for sure, but she could tell by the feel of him the moment he had entered the room. Her left arm shot out on its own, and her grabbed it in his right one, and pulled her toward him. And he held her close to him. She breathed in deeply as he held her, and everyone in the room watched, fascinated, as Harry stroked her hair softly. And then, as if in some kind of unspoken arrangement, she wrapped her arms around her neck as he lifted her up with an arm behind her knees and one across her back. And he carried her out of the room and down the corridor and away from their view.

-----

Blaise awoke sometime in the afternoon in what was Harry's chambers in the Chamber of Secrets. He had taken her there and introduced her to Kasus, before he pulled her into the room, closed and locked the door, and proceeded to tell, and show her, how much he missed her.

Upon awakening, she saw Harry doing some push-ups. He was topless and wearing the black cargo pants she had seen him wearing earlier the day, and his boots and gloves. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail, just to get out of his eyes. He seemed aware of her waking up, and stopped his exercises and stood, stretching. "Well, you missed almost all of your classes for the day, and I chose not to try and wake you so you could go to Advanced DA, and if you feel the need to be angry at me for that, so be it, but I'm never going back to that class. We have enough time to get ready and get to our Tutorial periods, if you so choose. You can stay here, Kasus can get you anything you need, but I need to at least see what this Dark Arts Tutorial class is all about."

Blaise smiled and nodded, before standing and stretching, going from leaning back into rolling her body into a "bridge" and then going into a handstand from there, and back to standing on her feet. Harry rolled his eyes, muttering, "Show Off" as he headed to the door. Blaise growled and ran after him, intending to jump on his back. He didn't fall as she thought he would, but turned and caught her in his arms. He looked into her eyes and kissed her deeply before lifting her and tossing her onto the bed.

"Get dressed. We can come back here and I can show you some of the things I learned and tell you everything that has been going on. For now, however, we need to go."

Blaise was ready soon after, and Harry took her hand, and walked her down to the dungeons. He walked her to the Potions class, and opened the door and ushered her in before heading out toward his class. However, Professor Snape followed him out and called after him. "Mister Potter, where have you been these past 2 weeks?" He almost seemed to demand. He was going to start another sentence, but seemed to stop and stare at the boy in front of him.

Vampires, being Angelic in nature, have a natural method of sensing anything that is labeled as "Dark" but is in fact just the opposing energy of Angelic energies. Snape could feel Kyoto's when he was in the Demon's presence, and could even get a glimpse of the power that the Demon held. However, the contempt Harry held for the man in front of him was causing his aura to flare even though he tried to keep it in check.

And this meant that Snape was able to feel more than Harry wanted him to be able to. And this told the man, in very clear words, to shut his mouth if he wanted to continue living, breathing and keep all higher brain functions. So he shut his mouth and turned and walked away. His curiosity was piqued, and he wasn't magically scared of Harry, but there was always the issue of Harry's Demonic abilities. Snape knew nothing about them, and knew nothing to expect. So, turning away, he walked back into his classroom.

Harry sighed before finding his schedule. He pulled it out, before finding which room he would go to for his Dark Arts Tutorial. The class was being held in small tutorial rooms that were rarely, if ever used, and it took him a moment to find the room.

When he entered, he saw the room was empty except for one person. Standing in the front of the room was Ms. Madison. "Ma'am?" He spoke unsurely as he entered, and she smiled softly at him. Her long hair was down, brushing her lower back, and her piercing hazel eyes locked on his.

"It's good to see you back, Mr. Potter, classes just weren't the same without my favorite student." Harry raised an eyebrow at the woman, but she simple smiled softly. "You are here under the pretenses of having a Dark Arts Tutorial, an idea given by Professor Dumbledore and, indirectly, Minister Fudge, to test your aptitude for Dark Arts. It is a class idea I have no intention of following through with, because it's a lose-lose situation. If you seem to be naturally good, or at all able to do the Dark Arts, they will assume you have done them before, or are too dangerous to be allowed in the school. If you aren't good at them, either this period will be wasted, or I will be ordered to drill them into you until you can at least do them, and then we are back at the first situation. Therefore, I intend to either let you work on other things in this tutorial, or I can get you started on spell creation and, or, enchanting."

Harry was silent for a moment, before asking the woman about enchanting. She smiled and reached to her hair, and pulled her hair up. And strapped to her back were a pair of sword scabbards. She pulled from her back, two curved katanas. They were not long, like Harry's single sword, but were beautiful. And along the blades there were runes, on one sword the runes were along the blade, and on the other, they were along the non-sharp side.

"These are two swords that I have had for years. They were enchanted to work very interestingly. This blade," she held up the one with only one set of runes, "is the blade of the two. It had quickening runes on the handle, and on the blade are runes for enchanting in a cutting charm. When the weapon hits, it casts a cutting charm, causing more damage than average. And this sword," she held up the sword with the two sets of runes on the blade, "is the shield. It has been laced with a strengthening charm on the blade. It makes it slower than the other, naturally, but stronger. And the blade has been enchanted with an altered _Protego_ charm, that can block certain physical attacks as well as magic. They work as a shield and sword would, but both can double as the other if need be. This is what enchanting does. Attack me."

"Uh…I don't think that would be a good idea, Ms. Madison."

"First of all, you will call me Angel in this classroom, and nowhere else. Secondly, go ahead and do it, you should be able to use that thing if you walk around with it."

Harry shook his head, before pulling the sword off. He noticed runes glowing on the black wrapping, and realized what they were. They were blocking the effects as well as the energy of the sword. He slipped it from the cloth-wrapped sheath, and as the sword came into view slowly, Ms. Madison breathed in deeply. The black blade was beautiful, and she saw runes along the blade, in a language she knew nothing of. All but for two things. One was what looked like a very altered Alchemist circle on the bottom of the handle, and the other, "A Restraining Hex…no, a Captivity Curse? What is this thing?" She asked reverently, and with a touch of fear in her voice.

Harry took the sword, and looked to one of the wooden chairs, before striking it with the sword. The chair slid apart with the evenness evident in the beautifully sharp blade. And Ms. Madison watched in shock as the chair's wood began to decay and rot, leaving bits of sawdust and warped and knotted wood.

"Holy shit!" she exclaimed, before covering her mouth. She blushed and made to apologize, but Harry brushed it off. She asked to see the blade, Harry handed it to her, and she was able to cut a chair, but nothing happened. She looked in confusion, and Harry sighed. He trusted the woman, he immediately did once she revealed the truth of the class he was in, so he asked her to sit down. And he began into the story, spanning the start of his summer, all the way to him coming back, explaining all of the major things that happened.

-----

Angela Madison was a child prodigy in terms of magical theory. At 32 years old, she was one of the first classes to benefit from graduating into a job market not held in the iron grip of a war-time civilization. Meaning, for her and her ability, she was able to work anywhere she wanted.

She had seen many things in the Department of Mysteries, where she took up a residency, working on the confusing mysteries that no one had yet found an answer for. There, she was a fresh mind into an old subject, the mysteries of spell creation. And that fresh perspective allowed the biggest theoretical leap in centuries.

She had seen many things, from ones she could explain hundreds of different ways, to others that she was still as confused about years later. But the story she was hearing as she sat there, watching this boy who was literally half her age, was causing her to seize up. She hadn't cried since the first fall of Voldemort, and vowed to never do it again. The tall form in front of her recounted how he had started the summer off a thin, average height boy who people only knew for his scar, and had become a half-Demon, and finally had the power to defend the people he cared about. And as he described his feelings, she found her eyes tearing up. No one deserved what he had lived through, and if becoming, partially, a "dark creature" was what kept him going, then she wasn't going to judge. For that matter, she wanted to meet this Kyoto, and hug the hell out of him.

When Harry ended his story, she smiled at him softly, before looking at him as if sizing him up for a moment. "Harry, I am going to teach you both enchanting and spell creation. At the same time. This is something that I had vowed never to do, because the two ideas are similar, and few can resist the urge to try one using the other. And normally these would be different ideas, but for some reason to me, it seems like you don't exactly have all the time in the world to get as powerful as you can. War is coming, and I will be damned if you aren't as prepared as I can make you."

Harry smiled at her, and opened his mouth to thank her, but she silenced him by slamming a box on the table. He opened them, and inside were piles upon piles of what looked like conventional "ninja stars", or by their real name, shurikens. "You will start enchanting these, and we will see how well that goes."

"Yes Ms. Madison."

"Call me that again in this classroom, and I will make you swallow one of these things."

"Alright, Angel." Suddenly, as Harry stared at them, he opened his mouth, gasping at his lack of wand, but before he could even say anything, she grinned.

"Enchanting doesn't use a wand. If it did, what would be the point when you could just use your wand?" Harry smiled and nodded. "Now, we will start on basic theory…" Angel went to the chalkboard and began to write.

-----

The second day Harry was back, he walked the halls once more in his coat and sword, but he had decided to strap both knives to his forearms again. Also, as well as that, he was wearing several shurikens. He hadn't started enchanting yet, but he had found that the weapons worked well for some distance fighting, and he had started liking them.

He was late for Defense Against the Dark Arts, due to Ms. Madison's insistence. She said that something had happened, and she wanted to see a reaction from the class. He entered late, and saw his chair missing. He looked around, and saw the Zacharias Smith sat on the other side of the room. He was the only one sitting in a chair that hadn't been before. He rolled his eyes and spoke. "I'd like to challenge Zacharias Smith for his seat." Was all he said, and he walked up to the front of the classroom, and moved the two about to start a match out of the way with a look. Smith rose and walked up, seemingly wobbling some.

"Single Duel, Smith has no weapons…" Mr. Long was cut off by Harry removing his long coat, revealing a sleeveless black t-shirt. He took off both knives, and threw them at Smith's feet.

"Yes, he does." Harry said forcefully, before he cracked his knuckles, and then his individual fingers before doing his neck, making several people, who heard the cracking, flinch.

"Harry Potter has no weapons but…" He was cut off by Harry raising his hands. His gloves were there, and his nails were pointed and looked clearly sharp. "Fine, damn it, just fight already!"

Harry stood there, before pulling out a small throwing knife, and seemed to be filing his nails, looking very unimpressed by the impending match. Smith grew angry and rushed Harry, both knives raised. Not even flinching, Harry leapt up and spun 180 degrees and kicked backwards in midair, right into the middle of Smith's chest. He rolled back across the floor, before jumping up. He charged again, to be kicked in the side, sending him across the floor and back in similar, easy fashion for Harry. After this happening a few more times, Smith grew angry, and pulled his wand on Harry.

He fired a strong Dark pain curse, but it never hit Harry. Harry held his ground and pulled out a shuriken and launched it straight at the spell. It went through the spell and stuck right to the tip of Smith's wand. Harry dropped to the ground immediately, the curse going over his head, before he jumped up and dove straight at Smith before he could get off another spell. He dive-tackled the other boy, and pulled his arm back as if to punch him, and stopped his hand just before it hit Smith. The boy fainted.

"So, guess I win?" Harry asked as he stood. Ms. Madison nodded, smiling, while Mr. Long was grinning like a madman. Harry went to take the chair, but the conjuring job was horrible. He kicked it, and it fell apart. He walked over and Blaise conjured him up a chair, which looked oddly like a throne. He smiled in thanks and sat down, and took her hand.

"Good to have you back."

The class went over the plan. They would go into their teams, and find what would be the best battle plan for their particular skills. The teams were broken up, and it was the same teams as during the demonstration at the start of class. Harry sat down at the conjured table with Blaise and Bella and looked at them before smiling, grabbing both of their hands in his under the table and giving them a squeeze before he began.

"We all seem to have short-ranged weapons. I have been gone a lot, so what developments have happened with the weapons changing?"

Bella held up her gloves first. They had taken on a darker golden color. She put one on, before she squeezed her hand and did and said something, and from the plate of metal atop the hand, came a long, wicked-looking blade. She grinned darkly for a moment before nodding, and winking, and then slipping the blade back in with another few words. She said something else, and the blade shot out, but from the side, so it almost looked like she was holding a knife in her gloved hand from far away.

Harry grinned at Bella as the girl pulled the blade in and took the glove off. He turned to Blaise, who had her knives set out on the table. "I intended to not let these change too much, and oddly enough, they didn't." Harry looked at the blades, and saw one huge change. The blade was no longer silver in color, but had taken on a very white appearance, truly white. The names were still etched into the bottom, but pretty much everything else was the same on first sight. But Harry knew something was different. And he finally realized what it was some seconds later. The blades were giving off a Demonic aura. He chose not to let her know that information, and instead just held up his gloves.

No one in the class would know exactly how much they had changed, or were helping him. But the biggest change since what Kasus told him was his awakening, concerned the gloves.

He couldn't get them off.

He could get them off for a shower or other such things, but anytime he felt threatened or the need to defend himself, there they were, ready for use. Hell, anytime we went to lift anything, or even balled his fists, they appeared on his hands.

They were being used to channel his Demonic energy, and Kasus speculated that they would be able to come off once he had a firm grasp on the energy without them. The studs on the knuckles were adjustable, something he found out while doing a sparring session with Kasus, and the material they were made out of was unbreakable.

"We are, more than likely, going to be the assassins here." Harry smirked at Blaise. "We are silent, fast, and hard to pick up when no one knows exactly where to look. The least predictable, and the most likely to do what has to be done in the end." Harry was saying this to his group just as Professor McGonagall entered the room. She heard what he said, and had come to take him away, and what he was saying seemed to justify something in her mind. She asked him to go with her, and he sighed before standing and leaving with her.

-----

"Mister Potter, you will not be allowed another wand, and you will, furthermore, not be allowed to just leave school grounds whenever you want. Your recklessness will not be permitted to endanger the school."

Professor McGonagall was watching him like a cat stalks its prey. But sadly for her, Harry was as far from unnerved by this as possible. He had been doing the right thing, and everyone was against him for it. He didn't know what it was, but he really wasn't feeling like standing up for himself against everyone in the world. He would if he had to, but it wasn't something he wanted to do.

"You know what, Professor, whatever it is that has you acting like this, its gotten to the point that I don't care anymore. Feel free to start to hate me. But you might want to check your sources of these offenses you seem to think I have done. Also, you might also want to realize that I never left school grounds, you of all people should know that. The Chamber of Secrets is on school grounds."

"Whatever you say about this 'Chamber' Mister Potter. However, I think that you are being a detrimental influence on both my niece and Ms. Black." Harry almost laughed at the mention of Bella, but covered it with a cough. "Blaise pulled a weapon on another student in her Defense class recently, and Bella has been losing house points in her classes by cursing, in the muggle verbal sense, at others."

"And…"

"And I think it would be best for all of us if you just distanced yourself from them."

The room ground into a halt, all motion slowing into stopping, including the next words about to leave Professor McGonagall's mouth. They never reached Harry, and it would end up being a very good thing, because the energy pulsing off of Harry was freezing the very room. The chair Harry was sitting on seemed to become surrounded by the aura that he seemed to be floating in, and reverted back to the wooden crate that it had been before it was transfigured. Harry stood and glared at her.

"I will not hurt you for that statement, because you were trying to do what you believed to be right. I will not kill you for that statement because it was out of love for Blaise. I will, however, hate you, because it was out of your place to make such a request of me. But make this known. The next person to try and split me up from Blaise, believing it will help either or both of us, will not like the consequences. But then again, they won't know what they are because they will not be alive to see what I will do to them. It would be in your best interest to realize this." And Harry turned from her, his back still to her. "Do not think any of you can control me any longer, Professor. It will not happen. This war is in my hands, and it will be mine to fight. I will not allow people to use me like a chess piece to do as they please, nor a bomb to throw in and destroy to get to an end by any means. This is now my war, and no one will treat me like I owe them anything.

"I lost any chance of a life I ever had, in saving all of you. Many times I wonder about the fact that life would have been a lot better if I had just died instead. But it doesn't matter anymore, this is where I am, and I finally have a reason to live. If you take that away from me, if anyone takes that away from me, they might not like the way this war ends. And that, I promise to you. Because if Voldemort is bad, you don't want me against all of you."

With that, he walked out of the door;

And onto her desk, Minerva broke down in tears.

-----

Baretta was bored. So bored that he wad taken to kicking Fudge around the room like a soccer ball. He eventually ended up doing a kind of Irish step-dance, and kicking the Minister about. The man had spoken very little outside of an intended government plot to attack and wreck Harry Potter's life, as well as how he had been the reason that Lucius had been able to get a hold of Harry at the beginning of summer.

The anger in Baretta's eyes was a put-on, as the man knew little outside of the fact that the boy had almost been killed, and Kyoto had saved him, and that had been the first run-in the two had had.

Fudge had apologized, and had even called into his office to step down, but Baretta had forced him to take that all back. All that the world needed was a governmental crisis in the middle of the war. Fudge was copping out, running like a mouse from a sinking ship. He would drown anyways, might as well hang around and see it through until the end.

Baretta was about to continue torturing the man, when he got a call on his phone. Only one person had that number. He pulled the phone out, and answered it with a select few curses. And he was almost embarrassed when he heard a woman's voice, but chose not to be, as he just didn't feel like it.

"Is that any way to talk to a lady?"

"What do you want, and why do you have the Demon's phone?" Baretta demanded.

"He's in a bad way, I didn't know who else to call." She sounded stricken. "I don't know how to handle a Demon's mental issues. What should I do?"

"Tell him to get the fuck over it, that's what you do. Now hang up the phone like a good girl and go cook or clean or whatever it is you do all day." Baretta commanded.

"You stupid fucking ass…" and Jamie went off on a yelling rampage into the phone for a good while, and Baretta listened, intrigued. He even put the phone by Fudge's ear, and the man went red and began to sputter, while Baretta just listened more. When she was done, he laughed slightly.

"You are perfect. You know what, I might come over there just to get to look at you and see what you look like. If you look half as good as you curse, then you might be that one perfect woman I have been hearing about." He chuckled. "But I don't know when I can do that, I have some things to do. I'll call on that phone before, and if, I come over there to check on his sorry ass. I have some vampires to go deal with. Good day, bitch."

"Same to you, you short-legged, pocket-pool-playing piece of shit." She replied through the phone. Baretta laughed as he closed the phone and put it back in his pocket. He turned to Fudge, smiling.

"That woman is fucking amazing. I love her already. Only, I don't, but its nice to meet a woman who can curse like a sailor, and can deal with us non-humans like its an everyday occurrence." Baretta smiled before heading to the door. "I'll be back, don't go anywhere." And he walked out and slammed the door.

Fudge sighed. He was hogtied and laying on the ground. He wouldn't be going anywhere even if he wanted to.

-----


	19. Chapter 18

**FFOmega**

Part I: Bitter-Sweet Dreams

Chapter 18

Harry awoke feeling very tired. He had taken back to sleeping in the dorms, and had one of the worst days he could remember. Ginny had been telling the school that she had had sex with him the night before he made his arrival back into the school as a whole. Blaise was about as angry as a bull in the crimson haven of Gryffindor Tower, and Cleo was acting like a protective older sister. The small first year had taken to Harry as she would to an older brother figure, and that is what it had turned into.

Harry often carried her on his back to and from classes, and Blaise had taken to holding onto him as if expecting someone to show up to try and take him away. The tension between Ginny and Blaise was explosive and Harry expected any spark to set off an explosion. Bella had turned into Cleo's older sister and role model. This was turning into a horrible disaster, as Cleo was running around terrorizing the Hufflepuffs, who she had found she hated a great deal and often referred to as "Helga's Dipshitties", something that no one understood, but caused less laughter than anger from Hannah, who Cleo had an unexplained hate for.

Defense class was progressing well, as the teams had trials, in which the teams had to fight through animated practice dummies and one hidden teacher on changing terrain to try and get to the ending prize. Harry's group always won, and shockingly Justin and Ernie were rising stars. Their progression in Advanced Defense class was amazing, and their short weapons worked amazingly to compliment their magical prowess for long-ranged spells. The Chess Troupe was functioning well, and Ron had found that his shield worked well in allowing him to defend himself, allowing Hermione to work well in the frontlines of the fight, keeping many of the "pawn" pieces alive much longer.

Advanced Defense yielded a large amount of individual work, which was very interesting considering the fact that Harry had very little to do. One could guarantee a pass in the class early, as well as recommendation for advanced training and recognition on the N.E.W.Ts for Defense should they be able to defeat Mr. Long in an all-out duel. Mr. Long was proficient with his staff to the point that it seemed like he was born with the weapon at his side. He was able to hold his body off of the ground with the staff with relative ease. The bite of the staff was truly there, as he demonstrated on Harry, who volunteered, seeing as he was the only one not scared of a little fire it seemed.

Dean's axe was formidable as any other weapon in the class. The battle axe seemed to have grown, the staff attached to the blade getting longer and seemingly made of some metal. The blades had a greenish tint to them, and were wickedly sharp, catching light almost like some kind of jewel, and reflecting it. He wielded it so well it should have been a crime, almost as if it weighed absolutely nothing at all, and even had a move he had created with it, where he swung it down to the ground in a straight downward strike, and when it struck the ground, he seemed to roll forward holding the handle, which sent him into a kind of flip using the axe as balance, and as he came down once more from his flip, he pulled the axe up again for an even stronger hit. This move was quick, and could come from nowhere, as Ron found out going against the tall, strong boy.

Ron's shield had gotten thinner and took on a pointed look, almost like it had been two shields put together at a 90 degree angle, and then turned, so that the shield had a point. The point had sharpened some, and Ron could wield the shield upside down, with one arm in the strap, and it almost made a kind of blade, as the bottom was pointed as well.

Seamus' war hammer was incredibly interesting to watch in battle. It had a very Celtic-inspired simplicity, with ancient design, to the point without all of the flair and aesthetic designs others seemed to value. The hammer's head was square and almost like a mallet Harry had once seen in the kitchen used for tenderizing meat, as it had little raises and dips on the hard hammer surface, for added damage it seemed. Where Dean's axe-handle had gotten longer, his hammer staff, on the other hand, had gotten shorter, to the point that if need be, it could be used with one strong hand. Seamus had found that the hammer worked amazingly in his right hand, and alright in his left, and he was learning to do moderate spell work with his left hand, and that made him a sharp, powerful, and dangerous threat, as one would never know what to expect, as he was capable of a stunner and a few other spells such as a Disarming spell with both hands, and was proficient enough to incapacitate an unsuspecting opponent with the hammer regardless of which hand it was held in.

Susan's cleaver, which she called Peacemaker, was the most non-peacemaking thing Harry had ever seen outside of Kyoto and Baretta. The weapon looked downright wicked. It had a warped and contorted blade, that looked almost like wood that was burned, but was clearly metal. The blade had grooves and jagged breaking points in it at random places, but was undeniably sharp. The handle was a pure and clean golden color, and there was a golden ring through a hole in the top of the cleaver, that didn't seem to be there for much of anything, but it looked damned cool.

Ernie and Justin were a gruesome and amazing pair. While their weapons had kept a similar appearance, they themselves had changed just enough that something very odd had happened. During one of the matches in Defense class, they had shown exactly how good they were, when Ernie had been split from Justin, and was behind the enemies in prime position to do damage while Justin was taking the full brunt of the attack, but Ernie couldn't do as well with just one sword for attacking and a shield he didn't need. And they had done something downright shocking.

Ernie had launched his shield across the floor, tripping up a few of the attacking, animated wooden opponents, while Justin threw his sword up and over as if it was all practiced and a perfectly natural action at the same time. Justin grabbed the shield and defended with a deftness that was shocking, while Ernie snatched the sword from the air as if he was a seeker and the snitch was floating in water in front of him and it was the easiest thing in the world. And he took out all of the enemies from behind. And when they were back together, they gave each other their weapons back and finished the course.

Their teamwork was interesting to say the least, as if was the most natural thing in the world for them. They had gotten the teamwork thing down better than anyone else in the entire class, outside of Harry and Blaise, who worked more instinctively than with Harry, Blaise and Bella.

Bella's gauntlets had changed a lot, as the blades were able to get longer and change direction that they came out at what were her words that no one could hear, or ever caught. The blades themselves were straight-forward, straight blades for the longest before suddenly, they changed. They took on a spear-like shape, the normal thickness of the blade for the most part, but near the end of the blade, where the tip of the sharp sword-like weapon pointed, it flared out in a kind of diamond shape, making it almost a 3-point weapon, able to do damage from 3 different directions. She used these with harsh lack of discrimination and a mental kind of instinct with the direction of her enemies to the best way for the blades to point. Watching her was like watching a dancer, she had the instinct of a seasoned fighter, and the weapons seemed to bring a light to her eyes.

Blaise's weapons were amazing. She moved with them interestingly, as she had sat up for over a month with Harry, working on holsters for them. In the end, they ended up working the weapons amazingly, as Harry used some of his enchanting skills on the objects, choosing to connect summoning charms to small rings Blaise put on her pinkies. The rings would draw the knives to her, while the holsters had a slight banishing charm on them, to send them out of her sleeves, and the summoning charm drawing them back to hands, as to ensure her hands were never cut by the knives.

The knives were beautiful, pure white blades with white handles, depicting sky blue snakes spiraling around the handles. The blades shimmered in the light, and seemed to glow powerfully like a beacon in the night. The Demonic energy was still there, but was simply a pulse whenever Blaise held them, and wasn't there at all when anyone else did. All but Harry. Whenever Harry got too close to them, and especially when he touched them, they flooded energy. But he wanted little to do with the weapons, as they were showing how pure they were, as the Demonic energy they gave off was such a beautiful feeling that he worried about corrupting them.

His gloves, on the other hand, still had yet to come off for an extended period of time. He was able to get them off to shower, but they seemed to respond oddly to him once he felt endangered by someone throwing the bathroom door open loudly. They shot onto his hands, and didn't seem to want to come off again.

-----

Harry stared calmly outside of the castle. The fall and early winter months had passed with good developments, for the most part given the classes, but yet and still, he was very proud of how much everyone had developed. Parvati and Padma had become good, strong friends to him, which was very interesting, because Lavender seemed to be the most distant and despising about Harry. She had sided up with Ginny on the girl's most recent accusation, saying, "A witch always knows."

Ginny seemed to believe she was pregnant with Harry's child.

And this had a lot of Gryffindor Tower split. Professor Snape was having a field day. He only stopped his teasing, which went on behind both Harry and Blaise's back, when he made a comment about Cleo that caused the girl to "accidentally" trip and spill her hair-cleansing potion all over him. "Darn, Professor, I'm sorry to have messed up your hair like that, it must have taken years of not using this potion to get it in that…_particular_ style. I am so very sorry." And the girl sassed her way back over to her seat, smiling to herself.

Harry hadn't spoken much to Ginny, and every time she tried to speak to him, he would walk away from her. She seemed to think that this "pregnancy" would make him love her, and all it was doing was making several people in the school that he wanted on his side turn on him. She was being the catalyst to a huge polarization of the school, people that had his back, and people who didn't.

But regardless, he thanked her for it. He knew who would be there for him in the end and who wouldn't. Ron, shockingly, had sided with him quickly, and Harry was thankful for that. Ron and Daphne were very deep in their relationship, and had spoken their love for each other on a beautiful night in early December, when the sky was clear and the stars twinkled above them. It showed tact beyond the stereotypical Gryffindor criteria. It was amazing.

Harry stood outside the school in the morning of what would be yet another double date between Harry and Blaise, and Ron and Daphne in Hogsmeade. Bella had taken to not hanging with Harry and Blaise as much, as she had her partner-in-crime in Cleo, and the two were often busy causing some kind of havoc. Bella had liked being friends with Blaise and Harry, but nothing more, on her own insistence, saying "I refuse to be the 3rd wheel to destiny. You two are meant to be, and I will be damned if I end up standing to the side watching the purest love I have ever seen be held up by me. However, I reserve the right to come in and sweep one or both of you off your feet whenever I want and use you to my own dark and devious devices." She had smiled and given both of them a kiss and had walked off with Cleo.

It turned out that her break-up consolation to herself was pulling a huge prank on the Hufflepuffs, her and Cleo pulling arguably the worst prank ever, involving some invisibility spells, some clown wigs, huge shoes, and a specified type of spell that caused your target to do a specific action. In this particular one, it was an amazingly planned out circus routine that seemed to multiply in length every time someone tried to stop it before it was ready to be done.

Meaning, for 38 consecutive hours, the Hufflepuffs were fairly, or nearly, naked clowns doing very stupid clown routines and dances, in the middle of the Great Hall, including the horrible circus music.

Harry chuckled thinking back, but the world wasn't all happiness, sunshine and puppy-dogs. Life was very capable of being hell, and he, better than anyone else, knew that. And Karma had told him, the time for the call was drawing very, very near. And that meant that was approaching.

Harry sighed and looked out to the grounds. Silent tears fell for what was to come. And those would be some of the last tears he ever shed on the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for a very long time.

-----

Hannah Abbott prided herself on her purity. She had a long-standing dislike of Cho Chang, and girls that bounce between boyfriends, as she believed that all courtship should be there to establish a lasting relationship. She was, what some would call, overly religious, or as Seamus had recently taken to calling her, which irked her, a "Super-Christian."

Hannah's belief system was adopted from her late mother, and she therefore believed that it was her responsibility to pass that on to her younger sister. However, Cleo was raised by, and heavily under the influence of, men. Hannah's father was a headstrong Auror who married into a religious family he couldn't handle, and as a result, Hannah's family was separated until her mother died.

This was largely the reason Cleo hated her sister so deeply. Cleo was turned over to live with her older brother, an Unspeakable, at a young age because their father wasn't able to handle raising a small child, as he knew nothing of how to do so. Cleo rarely saw Hannah, and every time she did, Hannah was always trying to change her, and alter her. This, while Cleo knew a lot more about Hannah's doings than the older girl thought.

Cleo knew all about the "experimenting" with Susan that went on in the girl's life, and therefore thought the hypocrisy of what Hannah was doing, as well as other things in the past, warranted her deep-seated hate.

However, Hannah always wanted what she believed was best for her sister, so she dragged her along for something called Pomfrey's Purity Check. It was really a checkup for girls and their parents, to check their virginity, as well as give them potions for birth control as well as other health potions. Cleo had no intention of going, and was forcibly taken along by her older sister. The younger girl wanted to stay and work with her partner in crime, in order to play yet another prank. Bella was yet another person Hannah didn't approve of.

"We are going to have to get you some new friends, Cleo, you can't be hanging out with those horrible people that you are around so often."

"What, like Harry, Blaise and Bella? You just don't like them because they are better than you, they are better family than you. And if you interfere in them, as my family, I will hate you forever, for the rest of my life. And after I am dead." And with that, Cleo shook off Hannah and ran down the hall.

-----

Harry's blades were glinting in the light as he tossed them. Straight into the wall, they shone like beckoning lights to everyone looking for him, and that pretty much encompassed the entire castle. He had been very quiet since the Ginny disaster, which had begun at the start of breakfast, and had spread into the late evening, escalating to Blaise's Gryffindor Tower pass being rejected by those who supported Ginny, and re-instated by those who supported Harry. The cycle continued 29 times in the process of a week before Harry stopped fighting it.

Laying in his room, he was a picture of repetition. He stopped going to most classes, and any teacher that questioned him about that, was immediately cut off by either him walking away, or Blaise pulling a knife, the latter only occurring where it concerned Professor McGonagall. The only classes he went to were his classes with Ms. Madison and Mr. Long, as they seemed to be steadily steering the entire school away from relying on their wand as a first and last means of doing anything.

The school refused to allow him to get a new wand. His time was spent laying in his bed, making holes in the ceiling of his dorm. He used the knives Blaise had given as a means of channeling magic for most things magical he did, but often they were spent being tossed into the ceiling, before the magic in the castle pushed them out as the ceiling seemed to repair itself. However, eventually, the holes stopped filling completely, and soon enough, the knives would fall, but the holes would stay.

Harry had the tendency to flare up in his Demonic energy at times, but prided himself in keeping calm, considering everything that was going on around him. His flare ups generally led him down into the Chamber, but sometimes, he would find one of the few people that calmed him, within the general area. As he tossed his knives, he heard someone enter. Looking up casually, he saw who it was.

"Cleo?"

"Harry! Oh my god, Harry, that bitch of a supposed sister of mine is trying to make me do the Purity Check thing. I can't! If I do, then…" And the girl broke down into tears. "They'll find out about…about…" She wailed and fell to the ground. In shock, throwing the blades hard into the ceiling, Harry jumped up and ran toward her, gathering her up in his arms.

Walking over to the couch, Harry sat the girl down and let her cry. He made to give her space, but she clung to him as if he was the only thing keeping her alive, the only thing left that was real. And she cried herself out, before she drifted to sleep.

Harry held her for as long as she slept, and within the hour, she was back awake, but it wasn't the Cleo that he knew, not the happy, sweet girl that was always the blast of sunshine that was necessary to the world he and Blaise lived in. No, this was someone completely different. A lost soul, if Harry had ever seen one.

"What will they find out, Cleo, what will they find out?" Harry asked. She was shaking, still, in a heartfelt pain that was the sign of mental burden too much for her to bear alone. "Cleo…baby…little sis, tell me, please, what is going on?" Harry pressed on. She looked up at him, her shimmering eyes locked on his own. She looked at him, and reached her hand up and slid it across his cheek in an action she was much too young to do, a caress of gentleness, of consolation, of sadness, the touch of a sibling and a lover all in one.

And then her eyes were gone, and she was looking down, her strawberry-blonde hair, which she had been allowing to grow and wearing it in a style like Blaise's, obscuring her eyes. "My brother's name is Akarinth, Akarinth Abbott, stupid name, and even he knew it. He went through school called Ace, and was good at Defense, damn good. He left the school and became an auror. And in the end, he was recruited by the Unspeakables.

"His favorite color was copper, and he hated Quidditch, but he was pretty good at it. It was one of the reasons that he became an Auror, because of the Quidditch stuff. He was more into muggle rock and roll than the tripe that passes for Wizarding music. He loved all of that, and he really loved to sing." She was silent for a few moments before she spoke again. "He used to sing this song to me, before…before…well, I remember it well. '_Cry me a river, bleed me a sea, just a drop so I can see how Heaven will be. Eternal dreams, bitter-sweet, just to taste a forever I will never see._' I will remember it forever, and the first time he ever sang it to me."

Her eyes looked up at him unsteadily. "He came home one night, incredibly scared and tired. The entire fiasco resulting in the Kissing of some Bratty-Couch-Junior guy had him stressed out. He was near tears when he came home, and I was there. I had had a nightmare, and was up on the couch, waiting for him. I must had drifted off, because all I remember is waking up to him sitting by me. I had told him about my dream, and he had carried me into the room. And that was when he sang that song to me."

Harry was watching her, and piecing it all together, but held his tongue. The girl's eyes were shimmering bright, and were amazingly sad, to the point that he was almost crying himself. "He would do that, that cheek thing, every time…every time. The first time, I cried, and he cried after. But after that, it became a regular thing, with him coming in after a bad day at work, or even, coming in after a good day at work, and feeling him touching my cheek." She was crying slowly, tears falling from her eyes.

"Cleo…baby…what did he do?"

"He would…he…he used to say he was showing how he loved me." He stopped moving completely, as did Cleo, before he lifted her up and held her tight to him, crying into her hair. His body shook, his chest heaving and falling as he held her to him, as if _he_ was trying to hold _her_ to the world, hold her to make her real, as real as he could. He was willing the life into her, willing it from him into her, as he cried.

His tears became hers, and he held her to him as she held onto him as well, as if becoming one person. "Harry…no one knows, and I can't let them find out. Don't tell anyone, please, I'm begging! Please, older brother, please." She was pleading with him. He looked at her for a long moment, before he wiped his eyes and held her to him tightly. And he nodded into her hair, the tears stopping, but his chest still shaking silently for her. "I…I love you, Harry." And she began to drift off slowly, the shaking of his chest rocking her to sleep.

"And I you, Cleo." He stroked her hair for a moment, before leaning back against the back of the couch. He looked up to the roof of the room, seeing the knives buried to the guards in the ceiling. He smirked for one moment before he simply sighed and closed his eyes, and he too drifted off to sleep.

-----

Walking into the Common Room, Ginny Weasley was near tears. She had run into Padma and Parvati in the hallway. Parvati had been becoming a good friend of Ginny's the last year, her and Lavender taking the younger girl under their wing, and even hooking her up with Michael Corner. But since the Harry situation, Parvati had fallen off from her friendship with Ginny, as well as Lavender. The twins had cursed at her, after stopping Bella from choking her.

However, as the redhead entered the Common Room and looked to the scene on the couch, her breath caught. Harry was laid back on the couch, holding a sleeping Cleo to him. The girl was wrapped tightly around him, her legs around his upper waist, and her arms around his neck, with his around her waist, his hair and hers swirled and everywhere.

Ginny's eyes narrowed. She had never liked Cleo. The girl was a brat to her, and was very likely to break in and completely shut Ginny down when she was feeling at her best, mentally. Cleo was the bane of the girl's existence, after Blaise, Bella, and everyone else in the higher years that hated her. The small girl was smart, but rash, and two rash people rarely get along.

And another reason Ginny hated Cleo was, she was the only remotely younger girl that seemed to get any of Harry's time outside of any school environment. If anything, Ginny was jealous, and she knew it. Jealous that this girl was there. That _this_ 'new' Harry had only arrived now, this caring, powerful, different Harry that had appeared this year, and not during _her_ first year. It wasn't fair, in the mind of Ginevra Weasley.

Seeing the two on the couch as it was, she sighed and ran up the stairs in tears. Right as she left, Colin Creevey entered. Taking a picture of the running girl, he looked to see what had gotten her so worked up. Colin had been crushing off of Ginny for some time, thinking anyone who was good enough to like Harry so, anyone that was taken with him the last year, was more than good enough for him. He looked to the couch, and took a photo of the two sleeping on the couch.

The flash of light didn't wake Harry, but there was a flash, and the magical flash atop the boy's camera was impaled by a small throwing knife. The flash was right where his heart was. Colin swallowed loudly before running away from the scene, camera in hand, and eyes darting about, shocked and near tears.

-----

Awaking later that night, Harry lifted Cleo off of his chest and tried to set her down. She started to stir and shake. He sighed and lifted her up into his arms, and he walked from the Common Room. He knew that Hermione had the shift nearest the Common that night, and knew exactly how the girl's mind worked, the way she patrolled. So taking the direction she wouldn't be at the time, he began to walk away, down the corridor, until he got to one door. He looked around, and opened it, carrying Cleo with him through the doorway before he closed the door behind him. Walking across the room, he opened the door and walked out onto the balcony. Harry had found this spot once, while wandering the castle.

Looking out to the sky, he sighed and watched the stars. And he was silent for some time, when he heard Cleo begin to sing.

"_Cry me a River,  
Bleed me a Sea,  
Just a drop so I can see how Heaven will be.  
Bitter-Sweet,  
Eternal Dreams,  
Just to taste a forever I will never see. _

_Rising to grace,  
Falling from Hell,  
Finding my soul in you.  
Losing more and more of my self,  
Your absence breaks my heart in two. _

_Just for a bit of rain,  
To cool the eternal pain,  
Lips meet for but a touch.  
Beneath the moon I declare,  
The stars as my witness,  
My angel,  
I love you so much."_

-----


	20. Chapter 19

**FFOmega**

Part I: Bitter-Sweet Dreams

Chapter 19

Hufflepuffs, outside of their loyalty, are known for another attribute. Persistence. They may not be known for having the pure courage to get something done like Gryffindors, the ambition of personal gain like Slytherins, or even the intelligence to accomplish something immediately, but they are known for persistence. Trying over and over on something until they find a way to get it done.

Hannah intended to get her sister in for the check-up. As she headed out of her Common and spoke to the first portrait she saw, asking for them to put the word out that she needed to see her sister, she ran into Susan. The girl was gushing about something, and when asked, Susan showed her a picture she was holding. "It's a 'Creevey Original' as he is calling his photos now. It's a picture of Harry and Cleo. It's really just _so_ damned cute. I would kill to be a first year in Gryffindor with this picture."

She presented the picture to Hannah. Hannah looked on as she saw a slightly moving Cleo wrapped around Harry tightly, with the boy's arms around her as well, both perfectly asleep. It was the picture of someone caring about another person, and looking to protect them. Hannah looked at how happy her sister looked, and sighed. She rushed off to find Cleo. She was making sure her sister was taking the Purity Check with her, and then they would have a serious sister-to-sister talk.

-----

Blaise was holding Harry as the boy shook in righteous anger. He was so mad that at moments he was bordering tears, and the next moment he was literally glowing from the Demonic flare-up to end all flare-ups. Blaise knew nothing of what had gotten the boy she loved so angry, but it was pulling at her heart. They stood in the corridor off the side of the Great Hall that few entered, and he was holding her tightly. His hands under her arms, he lifted her up so she was looking down at him, and her feet were dangling about a good 2 feet or so off of the ground. He smiled weakly at her. "Why aren't there more good people in the world, Gaby? Why aren't there anymore good fucking people left out there? Why does everyone have to be assholes, and seem to fucking fall into orbit around the last good people in the world! It's not fair." He was looking up at her, almost pleading. Begging her for answers. Whatever had him that messed up, Blaise didn't care about whatever it was at the time, all she cared about was being with him.

She reached out and grabbed him around the neck and pulled toward him, pressing her lips hard to his. "I don't know, baby, I don't know. All I know, is that you are all I care about, and despite the bastards circling us, as long as you keep your eyes on mine, and I keep mine on yours, nothing can touch us. As long as you are with me, nothing can happen. Nothing can go wrong." He smiled brightly at her, and kissed her again, before picking her up, much too easily for her to completely understand how and why he was able to do so, and he carried her toward the Great Hall. He set her down, before he looked at her, and kissed her deeply.

"Nothing can hurt us, right?" Blaise nodded resolutely, and they walked into the hall, taking their normal seats. They wouldn't know how wrong they were.

-----

Harry began to eat, when Ginny seemed to be fighting to catch his eyes. He looked at her confused, and she blew him a kiss in a way that made it very clear she was doing it for show in front of everyone. Harry looked away from her, and went back to eating. Ginny growled and stood, before walking up to him.

"So, where is that stupid little prepubescent slut of yours, Potter?" came a sneering voice from behind him. He turned around and looked and saw Draco Malfoy standing there. Next to him stood Zacharias Smith, as well as the normal fixtures of Crabbe and Goyle.

"Bugger off, if you know what's good for you, and your continued survival, I would very much suggest it, Smith you know how Blaisey is with the knives, and we have a table full. She can surely borrow mine." Dean Thomas spoke. He had rose, and he was holding his axe over his shoulder casually, looking incredibly imposing with the sleeves to his robes cut off, allowing his muscled arms to show.

Zacharias gulped, and Malfoy turned and walked away immediately, his flunkies leaving as well. No one saw the wand motion happening in the room, through the confusion, nor the spell hitting its target.

Ginny walked over. "Harry, you don't need to be fighting, you should be talking to me. We need to figure out what to do about your baby, about _our_ baby! I have a date set…"

"A date for what, exactly, Ginny?" Ron asked. He very much doubted his sister was pregnant, and was at odds with most of his family for that fact, but it was something that Harry was amazingly thankful for.

"The date for the wedding, Ronald! No self-respecting witch gives away her virginity to a man she doesn't intend to marry, what do I look like to you, some type of whore or Scarlet Woman?" Ginny acted exasperated and shocked, but was eyeing Blaise as she spoke in a way that was causing the other girl to get very antsy, wanting to attack the other girl.

"Uh…Ginny, I don't know what you are talking about, because I have no intention of marrying any time soon, less intention of marrying you, nonetheless on your terms or time. As for virginity, you never gave me that." Ginny was growing angry, but Harry was at a full head of steam and charged on. "I have never been with you, nor do I want to, meaning that this child couldn't be mine, if there is even a child."

"Are you saying she's lying? That she doesn't know her own body better than you, Harry Potter! The aud…awe…the audit…how dare you!" Lavender shouted.

"Audacity, you dumb blonde." Parvati muttered just loud enough for everyone to hear it. Lavender looked scandalized, and a side argument between the two broke out.

"Sorry, Gin, but I only see you as a little sister, nothing else."

"Then I would bet that you have used her, and when she was finally finding out what you were doing, you threw her to the side, and slipped up just in time for her to have physical evidence! You probably molested her, using her feelings for you, taking advantage, just like you did to my sister!" Hannah Abbott had entered the Great Hall in a huff, and had shouted this loud enough for the hall to hear. "You used my sister, Potter. My _11 year old sister!_"

The hall was silent, as Harry stared at Hannah. "What, in the fuck, are you talking about." He spoke slow and very clearly, his anger rising to the point that Blaise, who was holding his hand, felt his temperature shoot to a high degree that it was hot to touch him.

"You know what I am talking about, you…you…you sick fuck! You molested her, and you can't cover it up anymore!"

Ginny was growing agitated about not being the center of attention, and she got up and stood on the bench, to be higher than everyone else, intending to shout when Harry spoke again. "I didn't molest or have sick relations with anyone. This Cleo thing is a lie, just like Ginny is lying about being pregnant with my child. All lies, and you need to stop." It wasn't a request, it was a command.

"I was not lying about the baby. You will believe me, and you will have me. And if you won't take me, then I will cross over and wait for you there, and we can be together forever!" Her hands grabbed a knife off of the table, as she stood up on said table. No one saw the knife, as she slid it up her sleeve, and it looked more like she was putting on some kind of display. "I will show you the baby!" And her hand shot across her midsection, and Harry looked up in complete shock. In front of him, standing on the table, Ginerva Weasley was disemboweling herself. "See, see, this is the baby, your baby, _our baby, Harry! Our baby!_" She was clinging to air, her hands soaked a deep red color, holding something invisible up, as if she could see the one thing no one on earth could see.

And with the shocked looks on everyone's faces, Ginny fell unconscious from blood loss, the Gryffindor table truly becoming a pure red color.

-----

The Chamber of Secrets had never been more of a welcomed sight. Harry had been sitting in the corner of the main room for over 5 hours. Blaise had followed him there, as well as, surprisingly, Padma and Parvati. The two had become close to Harry and the way he was feeling, they knew he was hurting more than he was showing so they followed him down. Harry had fled the hall the moment Ginny had cut herself, and had run into Ms. Madison.

The woman's eyes were darting about, as she was frantic about what she should do. Her swords were on her, as there was an intended demonstration between she and Harry for Mr. Long later in the day, and she was staying armed for it. Harry had run into her in the hallway, and watched as she looked torn between stopping him, as it seemed everyone else wanted to do, and letting him go. Harry looked at her, and she saw his eyes. She grabbed him and pulled him to her tightly, hugging him to her as tight as she could, and she muttered something to him that no one else could hear, before she let him go. She was in tears, and the second that the last in the group walked by her, the swords clattered to the ground and she sank to the floor in tears.

Harry was sitting in the corner, rocking himself, displacing an amount of Demonic energy that was literally warping the air around him, making everything within several feet of him very cold, and he was very magically dangerous. Yet, it was taking Kasus to hold Blaise back from running over to him. He wasn't in tears, but was heaving as if he was about to vomit, while at the same time about to start screaming at any given moment. His eyes were dark and clouded, and his hair was completely out of place. It was an expression Blaise had seen before. The one time she had seen Kyoto expressively angry about something, and she knew the look. And she knew he needed her, as much as she needed him.

It wasn't a question to anyone in the Chamber watching what he was going through, that he hadn't done anything he was accused of. But it also wasn't a question to anyone where he was placing the blame regardless. The weight of his own hurt, the weight of the world he had placed on his shoulders was keeping him thoroughly stuck to the ground, and for all the strength he had, he couldn't get up.

He was silent for an extended time, seemingly meditating, when suddenly he asked them all to leave. Padma and Parvati did, but Blaise refused and it took Kasus to take her out of the room physically. Into the room, came Karma. She came from nowhere and everywhere at the same time, appearing from near nowhere.

"Love…it's time, and I am so very sorry that there is nothing left to do, no more time for me to save you. I am so sorry, my love, that you must do this, and no one else but you. You must make _The Call_."

And within moments, with tears running down her face, Karma had watched the one child she wanted so badly to save, make the last step off of the edge of her advisement and her knowledge, and it inspired the feeling of a mother bird watching her chick leave the nest to fly. It was either soar away forever, or fall to its death, and nothing else in between. She couldn't do anything to save him. And she wept as she left the room.

-----

When Harry had allowed them all back in, he was still sitting from the exertion of making _The Call_, and was very silent. For what felt like forever but was really only about 20 minutes, he had made no noise at all, or no movement. Suddenly, he stood. There was something about him that made Blaise stop fighting to get away from Kasus completely, and gasp, before grasping tight to her left arm with her right. She sank to the floor, and looked up at him.

He had changed completely and not at all, all at once. But Blaise was showing evidence, as there seemed to be some kind of smoke coming from her left arm, a gray kind of smoky energy. "I'm leaving, and I am going out there. I would suggest that you keep anyone you care much about away from attacking or harassing me, if you want them alive for too long." He dropped the sword to the ground.

"How do you intend to defend yourself?" Parvati asked, seeing him dropping his two knives to the ground, as well as removing the coat they had given him. Harry didn't even speak, as he headed toward the exit to the Chamber. He pulled his arm back and with a lightning fast movement, left 4 large gashes in the side of the wooden post he walked by on his way out. Looking around, the girls ran after him, Blaise first, her left hand still giving off the gray smoke, but she held one of her blades in her right hand, blade down, and she walked, or more, _stalked_ like a panther, after him. She was silent, and seemed to know which way he had went, while Padma and Parvati were generally clueless.

"Here's to hoping that someone doesn't say anything stupid."

"How was he able to do that?" Padma asked Blaise, completely confused. "What charm did he use, no human's nails are that strong, even transfigured."

"Padma, humanity is overrated in this world, not everyone is what they appear to be, and half the time, the ones you least expect, are the ones most likely to be. Think logically, girl. If something looks, acts, thinks and smells non-human, then it probably is. And you're the '_smart_' one…ha!" Parvati spoke, while seeming as if it was just dawning on her as well.

Before they could continue to argue, there was a loud scream coming from the Great Hall direction, and they all ran off toward it, knowing exactly where Harry was immediately.

-----

The Great Hall erupted the moment Harry Potter entered it. It was possible that this happened because of _how_ he entered, considering the fact that Professor Flitwick had charmed it shut, and McGonagall had literally transfigured it into one big piece of wood, eliminating the separation between the two doors. Because of that and the fact that it then had two sets of hinges, the door wouldn't open. The Hall was frantic, and it wouldn't do well to let that craze spread all over the school.

The slab of wood had thundered twice, before the door quite literally fell down with a resounding slam. And there in the doorway, he stood. His hair was disheveled, and he was panting slightly. His arms were tensed, as was pretty much every other muscle anyone looking at him could see, and there was silence, before there was a loud screaming from nowhere and everywhere at once.

Following the scream, there was silence, before suddenly Hannah got up to run at Harry, her hooks out and ready to strike. Several people got up to stop her, but couldn't get to her in time, as she was close to him, and the fury in her seemed to be working toward her physical abilities. She slashed lightning quick with both hooks, and everyone was silent and flinched as one, closing their eyes for but a moment. And when the collective eyes of everyone in the hall opened, they saw something very weird.

Hannah's hooks given in the Dueling class had changed due to the spells put on it, and were altered to make an angle, so that it was just under a 45 degree angle from the hooks, instead of round, meaning they could be used almost as knives as well, able to stab with a lunge. However, this had worked to her disadvantage, as, somehow Harry had caught both hooks with his forearms in the negative space under the points where the hook bent, and because of that, Hannah couldn't pull her weapons back. He wasn't even looking at her, his hair down, and even though she somehow couldn't see his eyes, she knew he wasn't looking at her. She pushed the hooks forward, hoping to stab him with the points, but he moved his head as if it wasn't even a threat and was a perfectly natural movement, dodging the weapons. She growled and pulled them up and brought them down as if they were some type of axe. Flinching again, the hall looked to see Harry holding the hooks, his hands on them, holding tightly. As everyone stared, something dark seemed to spiral down the points of the hooks before the drops fell to the ground.

He turned and looked directly at her, and she gasped for some reason, before he released her hooks. The hooks were bent and misshapen, and stained with dark blood.

Harry looked away from her, before walking forward in the hall. There was no real reason anyone could see as to why he was there, but suddenly the far door opened with a bang. And a small form rushed into the hall, and didn't even stop to look around, rushing forward and right to him. He seemed to be waiting, and caught the girl as she jumped toward him. Madam Pomfrey entered the Great Hall at a panting run. "She…she…she wouldn't stay…still." Then she looked at where the girl was, and the form of Hannah, as the older girl had sunk down to her knees, her weapons discarded at her sides, and blood around her.

She made a wrong assumption, but never got to act upon it. The Hall was suddenly shocked as the form of Professor Dumbledore entered. He had been missing, seen only on and off since his confrontation with Harry, and this heralded his first entrance into the Hall during a meal time since near the beginning of the year.

Everyone was silent, as the old man looked around. He looked at Harry, and a twinkle passed in his eyes, but suddenly he staggered back. "Keep your mind tricks to yourself, old man. In case you didn't know, Demons have different minds. We are naturally _fucking_ resistant to Legimency." Everyone stared for a long moment. "Do you really think you would be able to do that to me for long? Here's a bit of something I will say and no one will believe me about." He paused for a moment and his voice rose so he was talking to everyone in the Hall. "I would not molest a little girl, especially a little girl that I care about like Cleo."

"How can we believe you, Mister Potter, if you have been not telling your classmates about what you are? You could have been keeping anything…" Professor McGonagall spoke, and then stopped as Professor Dumbledore shot her an angry and shocked look.

"What…what…_what I am_! Let me ask you_, Professor_, what am I? Because last time I checked, I was a person, not a _fucking object! _Am I no longer a person then? Am I an it, is that what I am, an _it?_" Harry was angry, and the entire Hall knew it. Hermione had her hand over her mouth in shock, and Ron was missing from the hall, presumably with his sister. Dean had tensed up, and Seamus was shaking in fury. And the reaction wasn't just the Gryffindor table. Susan Bones had tears running down her face, and Terry Boot was staring in shock. "If that is the case, then I am right bloody happy being a goddamned it then."

The most interesting reaction was Professor Snape. His head was down, and he was shaking. Suddenly he stood, his chair skidding back on two legs before falling down. His standing, in turn caused him to push the table, and the large Head Table fell off of the pedestal the teachers sat atop, and down onto the ground, spilling food, utensils, and wine across the floor. "So, Minerva, anything not purely human is a thing now? So what would I be to you, might I ask? Am I an '_it'_ as well?" Professor Snape spoke, before stepping off of the pedestal and walked next to Harry. "I, Severus Snape, am an it. A very special it, and my _it-ness_ is based off of the fact that I am a partial vampire-human hybrid. And I, like Mister Potter, am proud to be an _it_."

Harry glanced to the man, still holding Cleo up on his hip, before he looked to the Headmaster, his eyes still hidden below his hair. Suddenly the person no one expected to speak did just that, and spoke what no one expected her to say. "My name is Hermione Granger, and my best friend is an 'it', and if that makes him any less of a person, then I don't think many people in this whole damned world deserve to be anything but primordial fucking ooze." And she rose and went to stand next to him. She hugged his unmoving form, before she looked up toward the Head Table, locking eyes with a visibly shocked Professor McGonagall.

"Filius Flitwick, Dueling champion and descendant of Dwarves, and right proud to be an it, if I am in the same company as Mr. Potter." He headed down the stairs and stood behind him.

"Dean Thomas, and my entire life, I have gotten shit over being black, treated less than human. Then I come here and it's not just my race, but my blood that people attack me over. So I figure, if that make me less than human, then I am more than happy having more people with me. Been called many names before, why not be an 'it' as well." He walked up and stood behind Harry, patting the boy on the shoulder. Seamus stood as well, saying something similar to Dean, about his Irish heritage, as well as the fact that he was a descendant of a banshee, and Cho going up as well with another girl named Su Li, their Asiatic heritage coming up as justification, and behind them, everyone found out the people who had left had returned, as Padma and Parvati came up.

"Been called every racial slur in the book, and many other things, and I am damned proud to be friends with this particular it." Padma spoke, and both she and her sister walked up and kissed Harry on the cheek, one kissing each cheek before they walked to the back next to Dean. And finally, came a loud voice.

"My name is Blaise Gabriella Zabini. By rights, I am part Demon, and very much in love with this particular _it_. I would give my life for _it_, and do anything for _it_, and I don't give a damn whether you like _it_ or not, and if you have an opinion about _it_, you can bloody right well fuck off before I decide to see how many times I can stab a human before they _stop breathing_." She walked up to Harry, and he finally showed that he was alive, as he turned and looked at her, and they stared into each other's eyes. She grabbed him and kissed him, before she ruffled her hand through Cleo's hair and kissed the girl on the cheek, and then wrapped her arm around Harry's waist. It was quiet for a moment before there was the sound of someone talking.

The whole of the Hall turned and looked, as they saw a form in the corner lighting up a cigarette. "Anyone have a problem with the kid, they can fucking come and take that up with me, but as a warning, I would very much think that as an incredibly dumbfuck move to make." There was silence for a long moment, before the figure stepped from the shadows and walked forward. He was tall and lithe, long white hair flowing behind him even as he walked slow, and his head was down, the cigarette in hand and the lighter clicking open and closed as he toyed with it. He took a moment and then looked up and pushed his hair back before he spoke.

"I never liked you, you old bastard, not from the first time I met you back when your hair was still as red as the dusk sky and you thought you and your brother could do anything. And I began to hate you when you seemed to get it in your mind that all Demons were evil because one decided to kill your wife. I started to despise you when you went on some kind of crusade to make sure that the summoning of all Demons was banned and fell from practice, just because of one Demon. _One_.

"I realized how deeply I loathed you when you started this crusade against this supposed Dark Lord Wal-Mart or whatever his name is, because of his hate and crusade against all muggles and all those muggle-born, when you were doing the same thing. It was hypocritical to the highest order when you did the same to us, did the same to that which did nothing to you, because of one.

"Did you know that the man that the person who was once known as Tom Riddle was forced to grow up with molested and beat him? That he is more like you than you seem to want to realize. That one person changed his entire perception on a group. And Harry here, who you seem to believe as inherently evil, grew up with the lowest of the low of people, being hurt by both Wizarding and human people, and yet, he still stays to help you all. And you call him an it? Do you not understand that if anyone deserves to be called more than an it, deserves to be called the best living thing, the best fucking person in this room, its him?

"And yet you talk to him as if he were nothing, beneath you, a lone person that you can somehow chose to pick on as you please. Do you not see the people here for him? If this is the case, if this is the movement, and Harry is its leader, I will be proud to join the fight.

"My name this time around is Kyoto Nox. I am a full-blooded Demon, straight from Hell. My true name, none of you would be able to understand, but since the dawn of time I have been known as Darkness. A name many of you wizards and witches may know, is Shadow. I have been alive since before the Rise of Hell, and I am the biggest murder alive or dead, in history. I have killed more people in all of my lifetimes, than there are living in half of the entire Northern Hemisphere, and it is not something I am proud of. I am responsible for the genocide of an entire race of people. I have no qualms with killing a man, but I am not proud of it. My being does not, I repeat, _does NOT_ affect what kind of person Harry Potter is, despite the fact that I am the one who Turned him. I am a part of him, not he a part of me, and no one will put my sins upon him. Realize that if you continue to try and hurt him, I will kill you." And he stopped talking and turned to Harry.

The younger of the two looked to the older, before suddenly Harry hugged Kyoto. Because of this, Cleo hugged the man too, having no idea who the tall man with the white hair was, but she hugged him nonetheless. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, you didn't hear kid, I'm here for the party!" He smiled, before he looked back to Professor Dumbledore. "I'm taking him, so you know."

"O….oh….only a family member, parent of guardian can remove him from school grounds…" Professor McGonagall stammered.

"Genetically, I am the one who turned him. Him being half Demon and half human, I am, by justification, his 3rd and 4th parent and his brother at the same time. Demonic blood works like that. So…I'm taking him. Anything else you care to say so I can ignore you?" No one spoke, and Harry began to walk toward the Chamber. Blaise turned and followed.

"I'm going as well."

"Ms. Zabini, you will not be…"

"Minerva, shut up, she is in my House, not yours, and even though you may not have realized that, with her sitting at your table, she is in my jurisdiction, and you will not overstep your boundaries during your power trip and attempt to claim power over my students." Professor Snape walked toward her, and looked at her for a moment, before he said softly, "She is right, you can't go without you mother saying so."

"What would you say if I were to tell you that I'm her father too?" Kyoto tested. Snape looked like he was going to pass out, when the white-haired man laughed. "Alright, I'm lying, but her mother did send along a note, which she told me I wasn't allowed to look at." He handed it to Snape, and Snape raised an eyebrow at the shredded seal on the envelope. "What, she told me not to, so that made me want to. I'm like a little kid with stuff like that." Snape read the letter through, before looking shocked for a moment, and then shrugged and nodded. He walked over to Blaise and pulled her to him and gave her a fatherly hug.

"You be safe. I know it's not a problem, considering the fact that I don't think Heaven or Hell would come after you with those two protecting you, but you be safe regardless. You do Slytherin proud." He smiled before he let her go and the three made to leave the Hall. As they had left, Kyoto looked down at the door, which was still on the floor, and saw the imprint of Harry's foot on it, and smirked.

"Good work, kid, very good work."

"So…what's this about you being Blaise's father? Something happening with you and Jamie that I should know about?" Harry asked, smirking.

"Not yet, no. But I do have to call her, so we are going to have to get either a fireplace or a phone, preferably a fireplace, since she wants me to head there. Of course, someone will have to go with me or she will have to come get me, but regardless, she wants me to go back there soon." Harry made a cough that sounded oddly like the word 'whipped', which caused Kyoto to slap him upside the head, all three laughing.

"Don't talk to your father like that, young man!" Kyoto mocked, before they all laughed again.

"Yes, mommy." Harry rolled his eyes as he spoke.

"Truthfully though, its really more me being your brother, not your father, or mother, at all. But hey, I can lie to get you out of school if I want to."

"Out of school?" Blaise asked.

"Yes. The shit had hit the fan in the outside world, and it has been kept from you all. Bad shit is happening, and when you did whatever it is you did, Harry, I knew it was finally time for us to go and do something about it." By then, they had made it to the Chamber and were sitting around the table.

"So we are out to save the world, that's it?" Blaise seemed to state more than ask.

"No! Never! Let this be known from the start, we are out to have fun and kick ass. If the world gets saved in the process, so be it, but let that be known that that was never the initial intention." Kyoto smiled brightly.

"Yeah, here's to kicking ass and taking names!" Harry said, raising his glass, which Kyoto had put some of the alcoholic drink he had been carrying. Blaise had some as well, and there was a smile before they all toasted, repeating the phrase before they all downed the drink, which was immediately followed by a round of coughing by Harry and Blaise.

By the end of the night, the entire bottle was gone, and no one in the room would realize exactly how much alcohol they would need to be ready for what was ahead of them. Kyoto passively wondered if there was enough in the entire world to prepare the two for what they would see when they got out of the protective bubble of the school. "Damn you, Dumbledore, damn you to hell for making such stupid decisions for these children. You are hurting them more than you will ever realize…"

-----


	21. Chapter 20

**FFOmega**

Part I: Bitter-Sweet Dreams

Chapter 20

Blaise awoke to people moving about already. She opened her eyes, and saw Harry walking around, a closet that she hadn't seen open. Inside, there seemed to be some kind of small vials, and he was loading them into the white backpack. His hair was down, and he was dressed in clothing she didn't remember picking out for him. It was a decidedly Kyoto style, and Blaise figured that was where it had come from.

He wore a chain with a ring on it, which made slight noise as he moved about and was still dressed in his boots and gloves. Strapped to his forearms were the knives she had given him, his eyes were set to his task, and Blaise jumped as someone spoke to her.

"Good thing you woke up, we are packing up to be on our way out. I will leave you two alone in a moment once the bag is loaded up, so you can say goodbye in whatever way you young lovers do shit like that." Kyoto spoke softly, but Blaise saw Harry roll his eyes.

"Going? Going where? He isn't going anywhere without me, and I guarantee that!" Kyoto looked at her, before he connected eyes with Harry, and then looked back at her, with a smile on his face.

"No shit, Sherlock, I was just seeing what you would say. Jamie didn't give me permission to take you, and demands to keep you safe, for nothing. Now get up girl, we have a lot of things to go over." Kyoto turned and answered a buzzing cell phone "Yeah…yeah…ok. Come on then. What! Outside…wandering? Like a stupid bitch? Fine, go ahead." And he hung up the phone. "Get decent, company is coming."

Blaise stood and stretched, and looked over to see Harry was still going through the cabinet. She looked in, and he shrugged. "Healing potions and all that, since no one out of the 3 of us is a healer or has any skill in Light magic." She smiled and nodded, before she pulled him to her and kissed him. She slid her hand up his chest, and pulled back. She had expected a bit of roughness, as she assumed he shaved his chest, but she felt nothing.

"Babe…why don't you have any chest hair?" She took his hand for a lingering moment, and noticed no hair on his arms either. "Did you go a little clipper happy with the razor or something?"

"No, its our blood, very little body hair. Eyebrows, eyelashes and hair on our head are pretty much the gist of all the hair we have." Kyoto spoke offhandedly. Blaise raised an eyebrow, and smirked.

"So…that's why…" she muttered, before she grinned at Harry. They both looked over to Kyoto, who was making a big show of covering his ears with his hands and screaming out a continuous stream of the word "lala" while shaking his head as if trying to get something off, or out, of it. Harry and Blaise rolled their eyes, before Harry finished loading the potions into the pack.

Suddenly there was the sound of something ripping. Harry and Blaise jumped and looked to the middle of the room. There was Baretta, closing the tear he had made in space and time, and a woman Harry recognized just faintly, and Kyoto knew well. He groaned before falling back on the bed. The woman looked around before she spotted Kyoto. "Where am I, and where did this person take me? Better yet, who is he and how was he able to do what he did?"

"Stop. Asking. Fucking. Questions." Kyoto seemed to stress, before he went back to looked as if he was trying for all the world to ignore her. She looked around and spotted Harry. She seemed to get a dawning look on her face before she walked toward him.

"It was you, wasn't it? You are the one that drew me here. And you are the one who was there when _he_ attacked my island and killed my baby!" She walked toward him, but before she could get to him, she was stopped by Kyoto.

"We don't have time for this shit. Make introductions, and then load up on anything and everything that you will need and can find here. Sooner we head out, sooner we can get into this."

She huffed before she looked to Harry. "I'm Lulu, and I am a Dark Mage." Harry looked at her for a long moment, before he shrugged.

"So, where is your wand?" Blaise asked. Lulu looked insulted.

"Wand? Only the most base and horrible of weak magic is done with wands. That type of magic is what is taught here I assume. Where are your wands?" Blaise pulled hers out, and Harry shrugged.

"I don't have one."

"Good, all the better. The magic I use does not use such things, and it would be best to learn to not rely on such things in the heat of battle."

"I said _introductions_, not a goddamned _lecture._ Now shut up." Kyoto seemed to groan out, back to laying on his back on the bed, looking up to the ceiling. Baretta was silent, waiting his turn.

"I'm Harry Potter. Don't have a wand, and I am a Half Demon, and…uh…yeah, that's it."

"Blaise Zabini, Harry's girlfriend. Mostly human, barring whatever connection I have with him, but an assassin in training." There was a nod, and then Lulu was pushed out of the way, rather roughly, which caused her to scowl at the figure before her. Baretta reached into his coat and pulled out a shoebox-sized box.

"Name's Baretta. Fallen Angel, got kicked out of Heaven for pushing my charge in front of a bus. Sentenced to this damned planet for the rest of time until I either do something good enough to get me back in heaven, or bad enough to get me put in hell. This," he pulled the sawed off out, "is Apathy. Don't look to her to save your lives, she is named aptly, and will only be used when I personally feel like it, not to save any or either of you." He handed the box to Harry. It was made out of metal, and was fairly heavy. "I don't think it is the best time to give these to you, but as we haven't the time for training you, you will just have to make due."

Harry opened the box and stared in shock. Inside were two handguns. They were a shimmering chrome color, just like the ones at Baretta's waist. They looked amazing, and he was glad that they weren't revolvers like the one his uncle had, and instead had magazines to hold the ammunition. "Don't ask how they were made, but don't worry about running out of ammunition, ever. They are powerful, not as powerful as mine, but they are high powered with a high firing rate. Specialty ammunition can be put in with another clip, as that clip will keep your normal ammunition in it. Don't look at me, I am not responsible for that shit." And he turned and walked away. Also inside the box was a holster, and Harry pulled it from the box and set it on the bed by a seemingly dozing Kyoto, and he set the box down as well.

After slipping on a sleeveless black t-shirt, which seemed to also be a production of Kyoto's, he put the holster on, which was a waist holster. He reached into the box to pick up the guns and slid them into the holsters at his sides and turned around. He walked over and lifted his black long coat that Padma and Parvati had gotten him, and pulled it on. Baretta looked at him for a moment and smirked, and watched as Harry slipped the scabbard and sword onto his back.

Blaise walked to the bathroom and showered, before she came back out. She had asked Kasus to bring her a specific bag in her trunk, and it was there in front of her immediately. He smiled before he wandered off, sparing with Kyoto. Opening the package, she smiled before she dressed.

She pulled her hair back, before she slipped on the magically reinforced pants her mother had had made. They were tight, and soft like a cotton, but were in fact shed skin of a child wyrm, offering great protection and range of motion. It was black material, and she liked it greatly. She pulled on an inconspicuous pair of black jeans over them to hide them from plain sight, before putting on the black trainers with the cushioning and silencing charms on them. Finally she pulled out a very essential piece to her clothes.

It was a piece that she wore that worked as both a bra and a piece of armor. It was made from the vertebrate of a small and not very rare breed of dragon, with some magical alterations. It went parallel and flat against her vertebrate from the base of her neck down to the small of her back. The vertebrate shield was cut so that it mirrored her range of motion and could keep her safe from a paralyzing attack to the backbone. The parts of the small dragon that were the skeletal outline of its wings were altered and wrapped around her body to fit as a bra-piece, protecting her and holding her in place. The material was smooth and more comfortable than anything she normally wore, thanks to the intense level of charms woven into the bone.

Where the creature's legs were, the skeletal leg bones went around her upper waist, holding the armor in place. The entire skeleton was covered in a potion, as well as dragon hide, which added the magical resistance, as the bone provided the physical protection. Over that, she pulled a tight, short-sleeved shirt and over that, a black dragon-hide jacket that went to about the middle of her hips. The entire outfit was expensive, but it was worth the expense. It was the outfit that she was ceremonially given when she completed her training for the most part, along with the Zabini blades. She had the blades strapped to her back, the blades strapped horizontally along the small of her back in opposite directions so she could pull them out, one with each hand, and attack.

She walked from the bathroom to see Harry talking to Kyoto. Both stopped and looked to her, before Kyoto smirked and Harry walked over and hugged her. He looked her up and down, then he took her hand. They locked eyes, and no words were necessary. He leaned down and kissed her, before everyone began heading out of the Chamber. They walked to the front of the school, and headed to the forest. Harry stopped and gazed at the school for a long moment.

It would be the last time that Harry Potter saw Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for a long time. The next time he would see the school would be under much different, and _much_ worse circumstances.

-----


End file.
